


Open Wounds Will Open Hearts

by bluejay1806, lizbethen



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Nightmares, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Needs a Hug, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders has freckles, Boys Kissing, But One Of Them Knows A Lot About Tea, Chase scene?, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Creativity | Roman Sanders Has Glasses, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Being Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders is a Little Shit, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fog, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Imagination, Janus the Badass Mom Friend, Kissing, M/M, Needles, Nightmares, Princxiety, Sad Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Sad Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Spider Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Tea, The Authors Don't Know Anything About Coffee, tiny bits of fluff, toxin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 52,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejay1806/pseuds/bluejay1806, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizbethen/pseuds/lizbethen
Summary: Virgil hears Roman yelling for him and finds him in a scuffle with his twin. Secrets are revealed, comfort is given, and there is a lot of angst.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 45
Kudos: 155





	1. Open Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Me and my friend did a roleplay over text that lasted from about 12:20 AM to 3:40 AM. This is the result.  
> I played Virgil, she played Roman. It was an experience.  
> My friend doesn't have an Ao3, but go follow her on her Wattpad, Bluebird1806, and ticktok, jaybird1806
> 
> Without further ado, let the angst begin!

"VIRGIL!" Roman's voice came from upstairs. 

"Roman?" Virgil’s voice responded casually from where he was listening to music, though put on edge by the urgency of Roman’s voice. "What's wrong?"

"I REQUIRE SOME ASSISTANCE!" Roman's voice came once again. "I'm being attacked by Remus!!"

"Oh, shit-" Virgil stood up and yanked off his headphones, running towards the sounds of Roman's voice. His fight or flight instinct was making him shake heavily, but he managed to get from the living room up the stairs to Roman's room quickly.

As he approached from the hallway, he could hear yelling and banging, and then finally Roman cry out.

"Fuck-" He tried to repress his growing fangs as he threw the door open to find the creativitwins fighting and Romans room a disaster. He anxiously watches as Roman dodges a blow from Remus' Morning Star. 

"Princey!" Virgil made a wild leap and tried to tackle Remus, but was hit by the still swinging Morning Star. He was thrown into the wall and hit it with a grunt.

"Virgil! Shit-" Roman tries to run to Virgil but his path is blocked by Remus. "Move it, Remus!" Roman yelled at his brother. 

Virgil felt his fangs growing over his bottom lip. Shit, the other sides didn't know about his trait yet, he can’t let Roman see-

"Not a chance!" Remus's cackles were mad, almost frenzied.

"Move, goddammit! Before I move you, myself!" Roman yelled. 

Another swing was sent in Roman's direction, and when it hit, Virgil snapped. Six stick-thin legs grew from his back, tearing through the sides and back of his jacket. His other eyes opened and he hissed loudly enough to get Remus's attention. Then he pounced.

Roman, distracted by Virgil, hadn't noticed the morning star swinging in his direction and got hit in the side, knocking the air out of him. Roman let out a silent gasp.

At the sight of Roman’s fall, Virgil's fanged mouth let out a guttural sound and he pinned the green twin to the ground. "Fuck.  _ Off _ ," Virgil commanded.

Remus' eyes widened "Come on, Virgin. I thought you hated this guy?" He was reaching for his fallen weapon, but Virgil's leg went through his hand and into the carpet, slicing cleanly through his skin and definitely leaving a stain on the floor. Remus gasped.

"Sink out.  _ Now _ ." Virgil commanded once more, the fury in his voice barely concealed by the hissing undertones in his voice.

Remus nodded quickly, sinking out.

Meanwhile, Roman is finding it harder to breathe. Virgil turned to the other side as his other eyes closed and sunk back into his skin. His six new legs remained, and he made his way over to Roman on them. "Princey?"

"Vir-" Roman's breathing became heavy and labored, and he started coughing.

"Oh, god. Stay with me Princey!" He crouched next to him and lowered him to the floor so he was lying on his back. "Try to breathe, slowly. Fuck, Patton and Logan are out-" He squashed at his growing panic attack but it was getting harder with every cough Roman let out.

"It… h-hurt-" Roman gasped out. 

"I- I know, Princey, you're gonna be fine, oh god, slow your breathing. Try not to talk, I'm sorry. C'mon, you're gonna be fine," Virgil tried to help steady Roman's breathing. 

Roman clutched at his side, his short breaths becoming slightly longer.

"That's it, there you go Roman. It's gonna be fine." Trying to take his own advice and slow his breathing, Virgil gripped the Prince's hand in an attempt to ground himself. "You're doing great, Roman." His legs started to sink back into his skin and through the holes in his shirt and jacket, and he sagged a little with the loss of adrenaline.

As Roman's breathing became more steady, he tried not to cry in front of Virgil.

"That's it." Virgil helped to move Roman into a sitting position against the wall. "You're okay,"

"I-i'm sorry- Vir- Virgil," Roman stuttered. His breathing was far from even, but it was getting better. He was lucky he could talk at all.

Virgil leaned against the wall next to him. It had been way too long since the last let his animal trait out, he was exhausted physically and emotionally. "Don't be sorry, Ro. I'm fine." Virgil said. He wasn’t fine, but that was nothing new.

"I-it doesn't usually get that bad," Roman mumbled.

"This has happened before?" Virgil tried not to sound angry, but he was livid at the other Creativity. The loss of adrenaline made him grimace, both the weapon and the wall had left a bruise. He thought he felt a little blood trickle down his chest where the morning star had hit him, but he ignored it.

"Shit" Roman whispered to himself. "N-no.. ?" The answer was more of a question. 

"I'm gonna kill him." Virgil attempted to stand up but sagged back again, wincing. Maybe he had hit the wall a little harder than he thought. "Later. Dammit," He saw Roman's expression and his face softened a little. "I'm not mad at you, Ro," Virgil said softly. 

"Y-you're not? But you- but it's my-my fault." Roman whispered. 

"The fuck? No, it's not, how on earth is Remus attacking you your fault?" Virgil almost laughed, but it turned into a dry cough. "I should've been paying more attention, I wouldn't have gotten hit with that goddamn thing," he remarked. 

"I'm sorry," Roman repeated. 

"No, stop." Virgil turned fully to the Prince, ignoring the twinge in his back. He took a gentle but firm hold of Roman's shoulders. "Don't be sorry. None of this was you, none of it." He looked him right in the eyes. "You did everything you thought was right, and although I am a little pissed you didn't tell me about this earlier; you are not in the wrong here, Roman," Virgil said carefully. 

"It's my fault you got hurt... I should have just stayed silent like I usually do," Roman muttered.

"Don't- oh goddammit, Roman-" Virgil pulled him into a hug, once again ignoring the pain in his cut. "Please, don't," Virgil begged. 

Roman winced slightly in the embrace, causing Virgil to loosen his grip. "Sorry," he apologized. 

"I- it's fine," Roman responded. "I probably need to look at whatever Remus' morning star did to my side, though," Roman responded. 

"R-right." Virgil let go awkwardly. "We might need to look at your ribs and back later too, but we might need Logan for that," he muttered.

"We probably won't. I've taken care of damage like this before," Roman mumbled, mostly to himself.

"You've- Ro, how often does this happen exactly?" He was trying not to get angry again, knowing Roman would think it was directed at him, which it almost was. If he ever found out who made princey think this way, they would soon be well acquainted with his fist. 

"...More often than not," Roman admitted. 

Virgil tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, how stupid could he be to have not noticed this, on both Dark and Light Sides. Both Roman and Remus were usually in their rooms around this time, and Roman was always sporting some bruise or another. They had just assumed it was from the Dragon Witch or something else in the Imagination. Virgil cursed himself. "I'm going to  _ kill _ Remus, I swear," He exhaled and tried to distract himself. "Lift your shirt, let's have a look," he motioned to Roman. 

Upon looking down at his side, Roman noticed the blood slowly seeping into the white cloth.

"Oh, fuck," Virgil gasped. 

Roman carefully grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up. It showed a quickly darkening bruise, covered in scratches and bleeding "Not as bad as I expected," Roman muttered to himself. 

"Not as-! I'm gonna grab bandages, Neosporin," he shakily got to his feet, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat. That wasn't a lot of blood, but it was  _ Princey's _ blood. "Don't you dare move, I'll pull a Patton and fight you." The threat was half-hearted.

Roman tried to laugh, causing more pain as he winced once more.

' _ God, I can't even crack a joke without hurting him _ ,' Virgil chastised himself as he made his way to the medicine cabinet in the downstairs bathroom. How the hell had he not noticed this before?

He grabbed Neosporin, but they didn't have bandages. His jacket was already ruined, he got back to Roman and braced himself, before ripping a strip of cloth from the bottom.

"Don't-" Roman tried to reach for the jacket to stop him, but the damage was done.It was a clean tear, with jagged edges where his legs had pierced the cloth.

"It was already ruined, Ro. It's fine." Virgil winced slightly as he tore another strip. He'd be lying if he said he didn't hate doing this. "Goddamned spider legs," he muttered under his breath.

"But- it's your jacket! Your trademark jacket!" Roman argued.

"I can always make a new one. It won't look exactly the same, but it'll do the job." With a third strip, Virgil set the jacket aside and started trying to clean the wound with a rag he grabbed. "And I can always wear my old one 'til then," Virgil countered.

Roman nodded slightly. "Let me," Roman said, motioning for Virgil to hand him the rag. Virgil hesitated, but sighed and gave him the rag. 

He sat back, looking at the grandfather clock. "Pat and Lo should be back in about an hour," he coughed and looked down at his shirt. "Oh, damn." He kept that part quiet, blood was tainting his black shirt, just a little and barely visible. He looked back up, hoping Roman hadn't noticed, he knew Creativity already felt guilty enough.

But as Roman started expertly cleansing his wound, he noticed Virgil's actions. "You're bleeding!" Roman's guilt was evident on his face.

Virgil silently cursed. "Calm down, Ro, it's not much. Focus on your-" Virgil tried to keep Roman's focus on his own wounds. 

"No, you're more important, you first," Roman responded quickly. 

"Roman, your wound is open right now, we have to treat yours first so it won't get infected!" Virgil pushed Roman's hand back towards his own injury.

"I don't care, you got hurt and it's my fault.  _ Please _ let me help you," Roman begged. 

"Roman-" Seeing that Roman wasn't going to give up, Virgil gritted his teeth and pulled off his shirt, wincing as some of the more dried blood came off with the cloth. "Just go fast, we can't let you get infected," he pleaded.

"I've dealt with worse before. Only once or twice, but I've dealt with worse," Roman claimed. 

"Well, not anymore," Virgil announced, wincing as the rag made contact as he let Roman clean him up. "From now on you call me every time, and if you won't do that at least let me help with your wounds," Virgil commanded. 

"I wouldn't want to bother you," Roman looked down before returning to treating his own wound. 

"I'd be more bothered knowing you were hurt and not being able to do anything about it!" Virgil's frustration with the prince came through gritted teeth. "I can't help if you don't tell me things, Roman!" he shouted. 

Roman flinched at the raised voice. "Alright," he whispered.

Virgil immediately felt awful. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just.." Oh, dammit, Princy, "I'm worried about you, Roman," Virgil exposed his concerns. 

"I'm sorry you have to deal with my crap," Roman whispered. 

"Hey, you have to deal with me on a daily basis. If that isn't putting up with crap, I don't know what is," Virgil smiled slightly. 

Roman laughed lightly, in order to not hurt himself even more. For Virgil, it was a relief to see Roman smile. It made him smile a little too, until he remembered that he had manifested in front of him just a few minutes before. His smile faded, and he realized that was probably why Roman was so reluctant to accept his help. He wouldn't want his help, either.

"And Virgil? Thank you," Roman said softly. 

Virgil looked back up. Roman was still smiling. "Anytime, Princey," Virgil smiled slightly. 

"Really, you probably saved me from a lot worse than just this," Roman glanced at his side.

"Oh." He squashed his fury at the other creativitwin in favor of taking the rag from Roman and starting with the Neosporin. "Well, I'm just glad you called out in time for me to come," Virgil didn't want to think about coming upstairs to a motionless Roman; or worse.

"I'm- I'm glad you came," Roman admitted. 

"Of course I came. You were asking for help, why wouldn't..." Virgil took a good long look at Roman. "Why wouldn't someone come if you needed them?" he asked carefully. 

Roman looks away, ashamed. 

"Ro.." Virgil wanted nothing more than to hurt the people who made his- who made Roman look so  _ alone _ . "Don't tell me they..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Even in the dark sides, if he had cried out for help,  _ someone _ would come.

"Nobody ever knows," Roman admitted, "I don't think Remus knew you were still here. He usually attacks when nobody else is here,"

"I-" Virgil had been planning on going to the movie with Patton and Logan, but he had changed his plans last minute. He thanked any god that was out there that he had. "Is this why you never want us to leave?" Virgil questioned. Roman didn't respond.

Virgil felt sick. No one had noticed.  _ He _ hadn't noticed that Roman was hurting. That he needed help, that he needed someone there. He couldn't believe himself. But he could try again. "Roman.." He held his arms open, hoping that Roman would accept his invitation.

Roman hesitated slightly before giving in and melting into the hug being offered.

Virgil gripped the man in front of him, wanting to tell him without words that he never needed to feel alone, not as long as Virgil lived. That he was safe. "Its okay, Roman,"

Roman finally let a silent tear slip down his face.

Anxiety reached up and ran a hand through Roman's hair, something he knew Ro liked. He continued to whisper reassurance. "Let it out, Ro. I'm here as long as you want me,"

Finally breaks down, letting his tears fall freely. "Thank you, so much,"

Virgil smiles a little, rubbing his back softly. "You're so welcome. I would have done it sooner if I had any idea."

"Don't blame yourself for not knowing... please," Roman pleaded. 

Virgil almost protested, then sighed. "Only if you don't blame yourself for me getting hurt," he compromised.

Roman nodded. He was willing to accept that deal. Virgil smiled into his hair. He was still anxious about his animal traits, but he was happy to comfort Roman for as long as he was wanted.

Moments later, Roman slowly pulled away from the hug. He began to dress his wound with the straps of fabric from Virgil's jacket.

Virgil watched him for a moment, wondering if he was going to breach the subject of his animal trait of or of Patton and Logan first.

"We- we're not going to tell Patton and Logan, are we?" Roman asked worriedly. Virgil sighed in relief that the inevitable had been postponed.

"I think we should, but if you aren't comfortable with it, we won't." He fell to his side and stretched out his legs. "Though I might have to have a talk with Deceit about this, he might be the only person who could get Remus to stop-" He stopped, seeing Princey's expression. "But again, it's entirely up to you, Ro," Virgil said carefully. 

"I- I don't think I can," Roman muttered. 

"That's fine. We won't, if you don't want to," Virgil cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't mean I won't beat the shit out of Remus, though," Virgil stated. 

"Not until you're healed," Roman mentioned. 

Virgil groaned in protest.

"We don't need that getting worse," Roman responded, motioning to Virgil's injuries. 

"It's not bad!" Virgil countered. 

"It isn't good either," Roman argued. 

Virgil groaned again and laid on his back, wincing at the bruise on his spine, but spread his arms to make the movement minimal. "Fine. But that means you too, you have it a lot worse." Virgil responded. "No fighting the Dragon Witch, or whatever other weirdass monsters live in the Imagination."

Roman nodded. "Right," he paused. "I'm not used to this," he mumbled. 

"What?" Virgil asked. 

"Having someone... worry about me," Roman responded. 

Virgil lost interest in his fidgeting. "Yeah, well." He rolled back onto his side. "That makes two of us, I guess,"

Roman smiled with empathy. "I guess we'll both have to get used to it, huh?"

Virgil laughed. It was surprisingly light. "Yeah." He sat up and looked away from Roman, deciding that if Roman wasn’t going to start the conversation, then he would have to. It was going to come up eventually, whether he liked it or not."Speaking of getting used to things.." He played with the strings from his cut jeans. "You haven't asked about... me... Earlier?"

"Oh yeah," Roman mumbled. "So… you're... a spider?"

"Yeah." He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Patton would probably think I'm more like a cat." He tensed his shoulders and grimaced as the movement irritated the bruise. "I'm... I'm actually really scared of him finding out." He subconsciously wrapped his arms around himself.

Roman carefully maneuvered himself to be sitting next to Virgil again. "It'll be okay, I promise," Roman said softly. 

Virgil shuddered and leaned into Roman. "I saw him kill a spider the other day, and I know that he doesn't know, but it scares me. That he thinks about them like that, and turns around and  _ cares _ about how much coffee I've had, or-" His breathing was starting to speed up.

"Virgil, I'm going to need you to breathe for me. Can you do that?" Roman asked, immediately understanding what was happening.

"I'm-" Virgil's vision blurred. "I don't-"

"We can talk to Patton about it if you want, but if not, he doesn't have to know. But right now just need you to breathe for me," Roman said calmly. 

Virgil slowed his breathing, steadily he was able to see clearly again. He felt a shiver go down his spine and he leaned a little more into the man next to him.

"Are you okay, emo?" Roman asked. 

Princy’s nickname made Virgil think about how much he really trusted this side. How much had been entrusted in him by this side. When he next spoke, his voice was quiet. "I don't want him to hate me. I'm scared, Roman."

"He's Patton. I don't exactly think he's capable of that." The prince responded. "It's okay to be scared. Just know that I'm here for you," Roman promised. 

"Thanks, Roman. But I didn't think Deceit was capable of hating me either. And... I guess I'm not so scared of him hating me, as I am of him... Being scared of me." Virgil admitted. 

"He might be, but after some time, he won't be. You're his dark strange son, remember?" Token tried to comfort the anxious side. 

Virgil smiled weakly. "Yeah," he replied quietly. 

"It'll be okay. You'll be okay," Roman murmured. 

Virgil didn't answer. His breathing steadily evened out, and for the first time in nearly a week, Anxiety relaxed completely. He fell onto Roman a little harder. Virgil slept soundly.

Roman slowly dragged his fingers through Virgil's hair, content to lie on the floor with him and let their wounds numb, and soon, they were both asleep.


	2. Clouded Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month after the last incident, Virgil is followed into his own room by Remus. Roman get's to know his emo a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol you this was gonna be a oneshot  
> Well so did I  
> But here's the second part, probably with more to come
> 
> Again, my co-author does not have an Ao3, but go follow her on Wattpad with the Username Bluebird1806 and on ticktok with the username jaybird1806
> 
> There are a few more characters than the last one, but she still roleplayed Roman while I did Virgil. We took turns doing Janus for this one because there is a lengthy scene where Roman and Janus are alone for a significant amount of time. So if you see character inconsistency, that's why.
> 
> *WARNINGS*  
> Violence, slime, panic attacks, being chased through fog, fear, Remus, mention of needles/implied use of needles
> 
> Enjoy!

When Patton and Logan came home, they were of course concerned about the scratches and bruises that both Sides were sporting. They explained that Virgil had needed Roman for something, and had looked in the Imagination, where Roman happened to be fighting an Ork. They both took hits before Roman vanquished it, and they headed back to Roman’s room where the Prince patched them up.

Patton was still worried about them, but stopped pestering them about it after a while. Logan inspected the sutures and complemented Roman on his work. Janus stood back and listened. He looked at Roman with narrow, slitted eyes that could see all their lies, and Roman gulped.

A month or so later, Deceit still hadn’t confronted them about it, and they were relieved. Virgil didn’t get around to maiming Remus, mostly because Roman fussed over his wound longer than was necessary, but also because Remus didn’t come back to Roman’s room after that day. They were both suspicious of it but didn’t complain.

Logan and Patton were, once again, out to see a movie. Virgil had opted to stay home, and he and Roman watched a movie together while Janus did… whatever Janus did when no one was paying attention to him.

The movie ended, the end credits rolling with the music that Roman had been singing since he had seen the movie two weeks ago.

Virgil stretched. “Not a bad pick. I’m heading to my room, ‘kay Princey?”

“Alright, emo. Just call for me if you need anything,” Roman responded.

“G’night,” Virgil stood up lazily and headed up the stairs towards his room. He hummed the song from the movie they had watched, Coco, and stepped into the shade of his room. The purple lights flooded the room, and he walked comfortably through the mist to where his bed was.

Virgil noticed something moving behind him, and his senses were immediately on high alert. Steadying his nerves, he called out softly. “Princey is that you…?”

The door to Virgil’s room was open. But Virgil distinctly remembered closing it. The mist grew thicker as his jumpiness hit a peak. He stepped towards the door and heard something behind him once again. He ducked just in time, and a weapon aimed for his eye hit a picture and shattered the glass. The throwing star lodged itself directly through the face of Roman. Virgil frantically backed further away from the source of the crash, pulse firing rapidly.

“Who the hell is in here?” Virgil could barely see through the fog now, he was breathing too loudly. Virgil squinted into the fog, where he thought he heard a slithering noise. He leaned to try and see through the cloud fogging his mind.

He froze. He could recognize the silhouette he saw anywhere.

“Boo,” Remus said with a wicked grin, holding his Morning Star in a way that showed off the fresh scar that tore through the middle of his hand.

Virgil sprinted in the opposite direction, not knowing for sure which direction that happened to be. He could faintly hear Remus cackling behind him.

Shapes Virgil didn’t recognize loomed through the mist, and he hid behind one of the bigger ones.

Virgil thought he heard his name faintly, but it could’ve been a trick. Remus was tricky like that. Virgil curled further into a ball, trembling.

Virgil felt panic from somewhere in the misty labyrinth that his room had become. He wondered briefly if it was Remus losing it because he couldn’t find him, but he waved the thought away. This was real panic, from someone more familiar.

Slime oozed from something over Virgil’s head, sliding down his cheek. He looked up into the crazed smile of The Duke, dripping tentacles and all. Pure instinct kicked in, and he screamed, barely dodging the man's pounce.

Virgil dodged another swing from Remus's Morning Star but was caught by a tentacle. He heard someone call his name, behind him. With nothing left to lose, he yelled, "Roman!"

"Shut up, Virgin! You took away my playtime, so now its time to play!" Remus yelled. Virgil swore Remus was foaming at the mouth.

Remus lifted Virgil with a slimy limb, giving Virgil a great vantage point to kick him in the mustache. He was dropped, and Virgil scrambled up while Remus clutched his face. Virgil ran towards where he thought he'd heard someone. "Roman!" He ran right into someone in the mist.

“Virgil!”

* * *

Roman was headed to his room when he remembered that Virgil had forgotten his headphones in the living room, so he went to return them. When he reached Virgil’s room, he noticed the door was open. His thoughts filled with worry; Virgil never left his door open. He stuck his head into the room, calling out to the other side.

After a moment of silence he stepped inside, almost immediately spotting broken glass on the floor, and he began to panic. “It’s okay,” Roman told himself. “Just find Virgil then get out of here…” he continued to ramble to himself.

Roman paced back and forth muttering to himself trying to figure out what to do. He shouted for Virgil once more. Then heard a loud shriek from somewhere in the room. "Virgil!" He yelled. He tried to figure out just where the scream had come from, trying to head in that direction, but the panic was messing with his sense of direction. He could faintly hear Virgil’s voice call out to him, and he tried to follow, but the mist was so thick, and his fear made it hard to focus on his surroundings.

Roman began to run, and was about to call out again or stop and go back, when he finally reached Virgil, who had also been running from… something.

"Virgil! What's happening?" The prince asked.

"Roman," Virgil's voice shook with relief and fear, for reasons Creativity could only assume. "Roman, its fucking Remus, he's behind me, come on-" he grabbed the man's arm and pulled hard to the left of where he thought he had run from. The fog was so thick in his room now that he could barely see two feet in front of him, but he plowed through. 

Roman’s panic only grew as he heard his brother’s name. His vision was getting blurry and he couldn’t focus, but he followed Virgil through the thick mist, letting the emo pull him by the arm.

Virgil stopped after what could have been several yards, or a couple of feet. He couldn’t breathe properly while panicking; he could barely move, much less run. The feeling of Remus’ slime crawling down his cheek made him shudder and attempt to keep the popcorn they had eaten earlier in his stomach.

Roman noticed that Virgil had stopped. “C-come on! We ha-have to get out-!” He exclaimed through his heavy breathing.

“We- we have to stop,” Virgil sputtered out. “I can’t… b-breathe-” He stopped talking and pulled Roman behind a pillar of some sort, eyes widening.

"I- I can't be in here for much longer," Roman responded, his breaths quickening.

"Quiet!" Virgil hissed. He pulled them both into a crouch and listened for the slithering that entailed tentacles. He saw something pass them by and covered his mouth when a slimy limb came almost an inch away from his boots, sliding across the ground.

Roman stayed quiet, trying to calm himself, but failed miserably as moving tentacles messed with the light that filtered through the fog.

"Viirrgiiiil~" The voice slithered as much as the tentacles, and Virgil didn't breathe for minute as both voice and limb paused and listened. “Come on out, it’s playtiiimme!” Anxiety froze when he thought he saw the head turn in their direction, and didn’t move again until he was sure both were long gone.

Roman felt like he was dying. He couldn't breathe even after Remus left, he knew it was his fault that Remus was after Virgil in the first place.

"Roman," Virgil felt Creativity’s fear rising and knew that his own panic attack couldn’t matter right now. Virgil was used to this place, even if Remus's energies were messing with it. He knew what to do. "Hey, look at me, Roman." He wrapped an arm around him, trying to ground the other as well as himself.

"V-" Roman tried to speak, but couldn't through his rapid breathing.

"Shh, shh," Virgil tried to think of something to say that would reassure the other, but nothing came to mind. The situation they were in wasn't an optimistic one.

Roman could feel his heartbeat in his head. It was pounding and Roman could only barely hear Virgil's voice over the sound.

"No, no no-" Virgil cupped Roman's face in his hands. "Cmon, Ro, try to focus on me." The Prince's heartbeat was almost as rapid as his own and was still speeding up. "Look at me, cmon Roman, we can make it out of this but I need you to calm down a little," Virgil said worriedly. 

Roman tried to focus on Virgil’s voice, but it was almost too hard. Roman was about to give up and let the loss of oxygen leave him dead to the world.

Roman’s fear hit a peak, and Virgil panicked. In a moment of pure impulse, Virgil darted forward and pressed his lips to Roman’s. It was short lived, and Virgil pulled away as quickly as he pushed forward. ‘I don’t know what that was, but it should be sudden enough to break him out of whatever cage he’s in right now.’ He was breathing just as heavily as Roman, and shoved the dangerously embarrassed thoughts to the back of his mind.

Roman blinked, shocked by the sudden kiss, but it had slowed his breathing down, even if only slightly. The redness of his face from his hyperventilation remained.

"Oh thank god," Virgil sighed as the glaze on Roman's eyes dissipated and his eyes focussed in the dim light. "There you are."

"Wh- what was-?" Roman asked. 

"l- you were about to pass out, I think." He was suddenly really thankful for the lighting because he could feel his face heating up. “I, uh, I panicked..." He pulled his hands away from Roman's face and put a little more distance between them. ‘I probably made him really uncomfortable, dammit Virgil why do you always do this?’

"O-oh," Roman nodded.

"Did you... did it work?" He looked back at Roman trying to avoid looking at his lips.

"I- I think-" Roman was still too panicked to finish his sentence.

"I've heard it works but I've never had... someone else have a panic attack where I thought it would be necessary," Virgil explained hastily. It was all true. He kissed Roman for a medical reason. ‘Right?’

"Oh," Roman muttered, still shortly dazed and maybe a little disappointed.

"I think we can move now." Virgil shakily stood up, trying to change the subject. "With this mist, we can't see him, but that means he can't see us. He makes more noise than we do if we don’t run." He held out his hand. "Let's go." He felt guilty, the man was clearly uncomfortable now.

Roman took Virgil's hand and stood up, following him through the mist.

The fog was slowly getting thinner as they walked in anticipation. Roman hadn't been kidding when he said he couldn't be here much longer, not only was Remus's chaotic presence affecting the room's atmosphere, but Virgil's own panic was making everything much worse.

But as Virgil's heartbeat slowed down, he realized that the thinner the fog was, the more dangerous things were for them. He had no idea where the exit was, and Remus could be anywhere. That thought made him more anxious, and the fog thickened to a more comfortable opacity.

He didn't know how long they walked in sullen silence, waiting for something to change. Either they would find the door, or Remus would find them. After a while, both seemed better to him than this never-ending anticipation in silence. Roman's panic had slowed, but he was still on edge, and Virgil got a little comfort from being able to sense where the Prince was, even in the few instances when he couldn’t see him through the fog.

After far too long, Virgil reached for Roman's hand, flushing once more as Creativity squeezed it in reassurance. "It's too quiet," he murmured. "We should have heard or seen something by now." His voice was calm, but the mist was so thick he could barely see his own feet. He knew he needed to calm down, but it wasn’t going to happen with Roman still panicking and in danger.

"How far away do you think the door is?" Roman asked.

"I don't-" Virgil began. He ran into something and fell over backward, flinching and almost bringing Roman down with him. "Agh!" He rubbed his forehead, which was hit the hardest but the wall he ran into "What the fuck!"

"Are you alright?" Roman exclaimed worriedly. 

“Yeah, I just didn’t see the wall,” Virgil shook himself then perked up. “The wall! We found a wall!” he exclaimed.

Roman’s eyes widened in excitement. “What now?” he asked.

“We can follow it to the door!” Virgil said.

“Which way do we go, though?” Roman wondered aloud.

“I have no idea,” Virgil stood up. “Ugh, now we know what it’s like to be a crewmate when the lights are off,” he mumbled.

“Are- did you just refer to Among Us?” Roman questioned, laughing lightly.

“Yeah, I did. I can’t see a damn thing,” Virgil responded.

"What's with all the mist anyways? What's going on?" Roman asked.

"It's my room, isn't it? It changes with my mood." Virgil sighed. "Usually the fog is more like a smoke machine, a little bit of it running over the floor. It only gets like this..." He realized Roman would get worried if he knew what was happening inside his head. "Never mind."

"No, what were you saying?" Roman insisted.

"It's nothing, let's just pick a direction." Virgil didn't look at him.

"Talk to me," Roman responded as calmly as he could, already feeling more panicked.

“It- it only happens when… I’m having a panic attack,” Virgil admitted, sinking into his jacket. “It’s not a big deal,”

“What? Yes, it is! You mean to tell me you’ve been having a panic attack this whole time?” Roman asked.

“Well, yeah! I’m being hunted down in my own room by someone who can, has, and _will_ hurt me! And I don’t want you hurt either, of course, I’m fucking panicking!” Virgil shouted.

"Well, I just- you were trying to help me and- I probably made it worse-! It's already my fault that Remus is after you!" Roman rambled.

"What? No, no! Absolutely not, we've already been through this, it is not your fault!" He came over and put a hand on Roman's shoulder. "You've done nothing but help. Do you have any idea how much thicker this fog would be if I was doing this alone? If I didn't have you with me to keep me focused? Me helping you honestly took my mind off everything else for a minute. That helped. _You_ helped, Ro."

Roman didn’t know how to accept that, so he changed the subject. "We- we need to get out of here," he whispered. 

Virgil sighed and put his hand back. He wanted to reassure him, but he didn't want to make things more awkward after the kiss. He would leave Roman be for now. "Yeah. I'm thinking left?" he suggested. 

"Okay, yeah. Let's go left," Roman nodded.

Virgil let Roman take the lead knowing it would probably boost his confidence. The poor guy needed it. They walked in silence, both of them as close to the wall as possible and Virgil just slightly behind Roman.

Eventually, they reached the exit. "Virgil! The door!" Roman exclaimed, pointing out the shape of the knob looming out of the otherwise flat surface of the wall.

"Oh thank god,” Virgil darted forward and reached for the silver handle, “I don't know how much more I could-" He paused, hand on the knob. "What? No, no no-" He started jiggling it harder, and the previously softened fog started to thicken again. "It's locked!"

"Shit! Wh- what do we do?" Roman asked, noticing the thickening fog and reaching for the other Side.

"I d-don’t know. I didn't even know it c-could lock in that direction-" He started to breathe heavily, and clutched his chest. "No no no, we have to get you out of here, come _on,_ " He kicked at the door.

Roman hit the door and called out for help to anyone who might hear. No answer came.

"Dammit!" Virgil fell to his knees. "No, n-no no no, we h-have to get out..." He felt his tears wipe away Remus's slime as the fog became heavier than ever. "We c-c-can't stay in here!" He exclaimed. “We-”

"We'll be okay," Roman tried to comfort not just Virgil but also himself, putting a reassuring arm around Anxiety’s shoulders.

"You-" Virgil hiccupped through his tears and fell against the door. "You c-can't - can't stay here, it's not _s-safe_!" he shouted. He hit the door again weakly.

"It's okay, Virgil. We'll find a way out, okay? I promise," Roman said carefully.

Virgil curled into the fetal position and tried to breathe a little more deeply, but the fog remained.

"Come on, deep breaths, right? Let's do it together," Roman suggested.

Virgil nodded slowly. 

* * *

Janus was going to the kitchen to make a quick sandwich when he heard thumping upstairs. He knew that Logan and Patton were gone for the night, and as far as he knew, Virgil and Roman had gone to bed. So he called out to Remus.

The Duke poked his head out from the nearest room. "What's up, J-anus?" He smirked.

"That's not- whatever. Do you know what's going on upstairs?" Janus asked.

"Oh, I just played a little game with Virgin and Roro." He cackled. "I can't wait for the toxin in my slime to kick in, Virgil's going to be retching for hours."

"What the hell did you do?" Janus asked. "I'm going to go check on them," he muttered.

"They'll be fine. You're such a worrywart!" Remus smiled. 

Janus got up and headed to Virgil's room. He noticed that the door was locked and he immediately sighed, knowing Remus must have locked it. He could hear crying on the other side, and gasped when he saw wisps of Panic Fog under his feet. He had never seen enough fog for it to spill beneath the door, Virgil must be in real trouble. He unlocked the door as quickly as he could, and opened it carefully.

Anxiety flinched when the door opened suddenly. He could only see a silhouette, and he tried to scramble away, 'Remus must have come back-'.

"Virgil! Are you okay?!" Janus asked.

"J-Janus?" Virgil questioned. 

"It's /not/ me," The man confirmed.

"Oh god, Janus!" He sat up from where his head was on Roman’s lap. "It's you, thank g-god I thought you were Remus..." His relieved look turned to something sick. "Aah, I don't-" in the hallway light, his face turned a little green.

"What happened?" Janus questioned.

"Remus… He locked us… In… I'm... I think I'm going to puke…" Virgil clutched at his stomach.

"Shit, Remus /didn't/ mention something about toxin- get to the bathroom. I'm going to see if I /can't/ find a way to help," Janus claimed, ruining off.

"Oh, fuck, his slime-" His cheeks bulged, "Roman help me to the bathroom-"

Roman rushed to help Virgil, his panic only slightly easing as he left the room.

* * *

"Remus!" Janus yelled frantically from the bottom of the stairs.

"Whaaaat?" Remus whined, sticking his head out of the bathroom. "I was about to- oh, you look pissed. What did Roro say this time?" He asked, taking a lick of deodorant.

"Where the hell /isn't/ the antidote?" Janus demanded. 

"Why? It's just toxin, it's not even fatal! Honestly, you act like I-" Remus started. 

Janus cut Remus off. "NOW, Remus! Or you /won't/ regret it!" he shouted, a hiss starting to sound through his voice.

***WARNING* Mentions of Needles/Implies Use of Needles until after the** **timeskip**

"Okay! It's on my desk, the blue vial! Good luck getting it down his throat through all the bile though, you'll have to inject it or something." Remus smirked and went back into the downstairs bathroom.

"Dammit, Remus! We /won't/ be talking about this later!" Janus shouted, grabbing the vial and running back to Virgil and Roman.

Virgil was already throwing up the popcorn he and Roman had eaten... Forty minutes ago? Had it only been that long? He heaved into the toilet, cursing his stupidity underestimating Remus's knack for putting toxins in unexpectedly good places. The slime must have had some sort of skin absorbent in it.

Janus ran in with the antidote, cursing under his breath. Janus found a syringe in the medicint and filled it with the antidote. Upon seeing the needle, Roman had to leave the room.

Virgil raised his head to look at what had prompted Roman to leave and saw Janus with the needle. He paled considerably, which was impressive since his complexion was already pasty from the vomiting and the panic attacks. "Janus-" He started to protest.

Janus cut him off. "You have to let me do this, Virgil, or it won't stop for quite some time," he stated. “I’ll hate it every bit as much as you do.

Virgil looked like he was about to protest, but after a dry heave, he nodded weakly. "J-just make it quick," he muttered.

*Slight time skip cuz needles*

After being called back in, Roman looked to Virgil guiltily. "I'm sorry, I just- I can't- needles-" He tried to explain.

"It's fine, Princey." He leaned against Janus, who was helping to clean up his face. Virgil had removed his jacket, an MCR tee exposed from beneath it. "I get it."

"Sorry," Roman mumbled again.

"Mmm," Virgil closed his eyes, exhausted. This was far from what he had expected this night to be. He leaned further into Janus’s cold hands, cooling his hot, pasty skin.

Roman smiled slightly at the sleepy Virgil. As Janus finished helping Virgil, he asked, "Are you able to stand?"

"Mhm," Virgil nodded slightly. 

Roman stepped forward to help Virgil up, holding out his hand.

Virgil took it and shakily got to his feet. "I-I'm not going back to my room. Not tonight," he announced. No one blamed him.

"If you wish, you can come to my room," Roman suggested.

"I-I can sleep on the couch, I don't want to get in the way..." The shake in his legs suggested he probably wouldn't make it down the stairs.

"You're not in the way," Roman said firmly. "And there's no way you're making it down there by yourself, anyway."

"Roman-" Virgil tried to protest.

"You _will_ stay in my room. I don't care if you don't want to, you're going to," Roman proclaimed. 

"I'll be fine, Princey!" Virgil countered. 

"Nope," Roman scooped up Virgil and started towards his room, ignoring Virgil's protests. The man’s face was bright red, but he didn't have enough energy to fight back, and after a few weak struggles, he resigned himself to his fate. "Janus, tell him I'll be fine!" Virgil begged as a last ditch effort.

Janus smirked and sank out.

"Janus, you traitor-!" Virgil shouted. 

"Shut up, emo," Roman laughed.

Virgil turned even redder.

"Hey, Virgil? Why are you so light?" Roman asked when they were nearly there.

Virgil froze a little and didn't answer.

"Virgil?" Roman questioned worriedly.

Virgil heard the concern in his voice and sighed. "I-I'll tell you later. For now, I just really need to sleep. Too much has happened already," he mumbled. 

This worried Roman more. "Okay. Well, I'm here for you, okay?" He said carefully.

Virgil sighed again and snuggled into Roman from his position in his arms. "I know, Ro. And I'm glad," His eyes closed.

Roman smiled worriedly. He continued to carry Virgil to his room and put him down on his bed. Then he grabbed an extra pillow and blanket, setting them on the floor.

Virgil sank in the glory of Roman's obnoxiously comfortable bed. He watched the Prince put a blanket on the floor and immediately said, "Don't you dare, Princey." He tried to sound threatening but he was just too tired to put effort into it. "You are _not_ sleeping on the floor," he announced.

"Virge-" Roman began to protest. 

"I will roll off the bed if you even think about it, Sir Sing-A-Lot," He sent a glare in his direction, almost daring Roman to call his bluff.

"Don't do that, you'll get hurt!" Roman protested hurriedly.

"Exactly!" Virgil rolled onto his back, just a well placed movement away from falling hard. "Put that blanket away," he warned. 

Roman sighed before complying. There was a knock at the door, and he sighed. "Who is it?" He asked.

"It's /not/ Janus," came the response. The door opened a crack. "Roman, may I talk to you? Virgil, you need to get some sleep.” Virgil groaned but didn’t protest, and rolled over.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, sure,” He said goodnight to Virgil, then followed Janus out of the room and downstairs into the living room, where Janus motioned for him to sit. He then checked the surrounding rooms for Remus, luckily they were empty. He returned to the middle of the living room.

When he spoke, there was a little bit of malice in his voice. “Would you like to explain what you two /didn’t/ do that invoked Remus’s wrath to the point of _poisoning_?”

Creativity winced. “Not really, but I’m assuming you’re going to make me anyway.” He took a deep breath and started. “So Remus was attacking me, like he has many times before, but that’s not important right now-” Roman began.

Janus looked like he could beg to differ, but decided he could ask Remus about that later. “Continue.”

“I was starting to worry that Remus was gonna end up killing me, so I called for Virgil,” Roman explained.

“Why didn’t you do that in earlier instances?” Janus questioned.

“Don’t worry about it. Anyways, when I called for Virgil he came right as Remus was swinging at me with his morning star,” Roman continued.

“He attacked you with his Morning Star?!” Deceit exclaimed. “Is this what really happened instead of that incredibly bad Ork story?”

“It was well thought out, thank you, but that's not important. So Virgil came, and of course, I ducked, not wanting to get hit, but then Virgil did get hit, and he got knocked into the wall-” Roman said quickly. 

Janus looked livid. “He _what?!_ ”

“I know! So I tried to run to him, but Remus blocked my path. I tried to get past him but Remus swung at me again. I was distracted by Virgil, so I got hit, and it knocked the air out of me-” The look on Janus’s face made him stop.

“Remus and I,” The snake faced man said slowly, “/Aren’t/ going to have a very long _chat_ tomorrow, about unnecessary violence and the consequences that follow it,”

“Um. Ok? Anyway, Virgil pounced onto Remus and got him to sink out of my room. I had just had the air knocked out of me, mind you, so I couldn't breathe, which freaked me out. That made me have a panic attack,” Roman stated. 

“Understandable. I assume Virgil /wasn’t/ helpful in calming you,” Janus mentioned. 

“Yeah, Virgil got me to calm down, then he got me to take off my shirt so we could see what damage was done, and it was pretty bad, but the not worst I’d ever dealt with. I explained that to Virgil which made him freak out-” Roman continued the story.

“Understandable once again. May I see how the wound is doing?” Janus requested.

“It’s just a light bruise right now, I’m fine,” Roman pushed away the suggestion. 

“Roman.” His voice was sharp. “Let me see it, please.” He said please, but he wasn't really asking.

Roman sighed. “Fine,” he lifted his shirt to show Janus the mostly healed wound. 

The man leaned in to inspect it with care. He tilted his head. “I see you /haven’t/ done an expert job of patching it up. As far as I’m aware, you /have/ been taught by anyone else how to clean up things like this. Have you gotten this good only by experience?” Janus questioned.

“Yeah, I taught myself with trial and error. So I apologised to Virgil, cause this is all my fault for calling for him-” Roman mumbled before continuing. 

“No, Roman, we need to discuss that. How many times has he hurt you that you had to learn how to heal yourself? Why /did/ you alert someone when this whole thing began?” Janus was concerned for the lighter Creativity.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure how many times, but I never tell anyone because I don’t want to be a bother or anything like that, so-” Roman began but was cut off.

Janus looked incredulous. “You were being attacked. How /wouldn’t/ asking for someone to help you, to keep you from being _injured_ , almost fatally so, since you admitted you were concerned for your life, be bothering someone? Call me Logan if you must, but that is illogical. If you need help, you /shouldn’t/ ask for it,” Janus expressed his concern. 

“Everyone has better things to do, more important stuff to worry about- did you want me to finish telling you what happened?” Roman quickly changed the subject. 

“Roman, I-” Janus seemed to reign himself in. “I’m afraid that I must /not/ insist that you visit Emile after this. I won’t force you to do anything else, but you /don’t/ need to talk to someone professional about this. The fact that you think that people have better things to think about than _your life_ is concerning in and of itself, and that is without the rest of what you are about to tell me.” he insisted. 

Roman tried his best to ignore the previous statement. “Anyways, then we fixed up our wounds and fell asleep, which is where Patton found us.” he explained. 

Janus looked like he wanted to keep talking about Roman’s dilemma, but he sighed and let the side continue. “And how /isn’t/ Virgil’s wound?” Janus questioned. 

Roman smiled slightly. “He’s completely healed,” He responded.

“Wonderful. Proceed.” Deceit sat on the ottoman.

“So today after the movie, Virgil left to go to his room and I went to mine, but I remembered that Virgil left his headphones in the living room, so I went to go get them and bring them to him. His door was open, so I looked inside and I saw broken glass so I went in Virgil’s room to try and find him cause I was worried,” Roman explained.

“Oh, dear," Janus muttered. 

“Eventually I found him and he told me Remus was chasing him, so of course it was my fault-” Roman rambled. 

“How would that be your fault?” Janus said calmly, like he legitimately wanted to know the answer and was prepared to prove him wrong.

“That’s what Virgil said. Anyway we got away and were hiding, but Remus got really close to us, so I started panicking even more and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Virgil calmed me down and then we tried to find the edge of his room cause we needed to get out-” Roman was quick to once more change the subject. 

“No, Roman. Why is that your fault? Tell me why you think that," Janus insisted. 

Roman ignored the question and continued the story. “We found the edge of the room, but only because Virgil ran into it-” he tried to continue the story. 

“/ _Do_ / ignore me, Roman. I want to know," Janus interrupted sharply. 

Roman paused and sighed. Why wasn’t it perfectly obvious to everyone else? “It’s my fault because I called for Virgil when Remus attacked me, so Virgil came, which made Remus go after Virgil instead of just me.” It wasn’t that difficult to understand, was it?

Janus sat silently for a moment. “Tell me this, Roman: If a man’s house is set on fire, and that man calls the fire department, and one of the firemen gets burned while saving him, who’s fault would it be that they were hurt?” Janus quizzed the other side. 

“Well probably whomever started the fire,” Roman answered. It was a simple question.

“Not the one who called the firemen?” Janus implied, gesturing at the Prince.

“No, of course-” Roman exclaimed, then stopped. There was silence as he had to think a bit. “That’s what I thought,” The snake said with satisfaction.

Roman decided to be annoyed rather than confused..“Can I _please_ just keep telling you what happened?” He begged. 

“Of course, Roman.” Janus said with an innocent smile. “Continue with your tale.”

“So we found the edge of the room because Virgil ran into it-” Roman stated. 

“I’m sorry, he ran into it?” Janus questioned incredulously. 

“Yeah, we couldn’t see anything because of the fog. Then he told me how his room works and I found out he had been having a panic attack the whole time, which made me freak out which made him freak out. Then we tried to find the door and when we found the door, it was locked-” Roman mumbled. 

“Oh dear. The whole time? How long do you estimate you /weren’t/ in there?” Janus asked. 

“Maybe… forty minutes? I feel awful for not noticing,” Roman looked down at his hands. 

“Don’t, he has gotten very good at hiding his panic attacks. Usually he’s better at dealing with them, too, but I suppose because of the odd mix of energies with Remus, and since he was also worried for you…” He saw Roman’s renewed guilty look. “As I said, don’t. He /wouldn’t/ have been equally worried for anyone else stuck in his room.” He paused and smiled a bit mischievously. “Well, maybe not..” He said under his breath.

‘Another thing that’s my fault,’ Roman thought to himself. “And when we found out the door was locked, Virgil started to panic and then I started to panic and then eventually you came and saved us.” Roman finished.

“Hm. Do you know how Remus got the toxin into Virgil?” Janus asked carefully. 

“Some sort of… slimy gooey stuff? On his tentacles,” Roman responded. He shuddered.

“Odd. I /did/ know he was capable of giving his special effects actual harmful properties, most of the time they’re just for the pizazz.” Janus pursed his lips.

“Can I please go now? It’s like… three in the morning or something like that,” Roman mumbled tiredly. 

"It’s one twenty.” Janus sighed and waved a hand. “Very well, you can go. I need to… _speak_ with Remus, anyway.” He stopped Roman when he was halfway up the stairs. “Oh, and I’m not going to say anything about this to Patton or Logan, because I /don’t/ expect you and Virgil to bring it up yourselves. Understand?”

Roman sighed. “Maybe…” he said quietly. 

“I suppose that’s the best I can ask for. Goodnight, Roman.” Janus sunk out.

“Farewell,” Roman mumbled. He continued to his room, exhausted. It wasn’t very helpful that he had gotten barely any sleep the night before, either. He entered his room, softly closing the door behind him and carefully getting into his bed next to Virgil.

Virgil had barely stirred when the door opened. He seemed to be pretty deeply asleep. 

Roman sighed, placing his head on the extra pillow next to the emo.

Virgil responded to the movement by rolling over and placing an arm around Roman, humming contentedly in his sleep and pulling the Prince closer. “Ro,” could be heard vaguely in his deep breathing.

Roman flushed, then smiled. “Hey, Virge.” He put an arm around his waist in response, and soon fell asleep in Virgil’s embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	3. Difference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman does "Get Help."  
> No, actually, he get's help. Emile is good at his job.  
> Roman is also a little shit when he's sleepy. Virgil isn't really complaining.
> 
> FEATURES EYESHADOW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> I played Virgil, Logan, and Emile. Bluebird1806 on Wattpad played Roman, Patton, and Janus.  
> TW: Vomiting
> 
> Enjoy!

Virgil didn’t want to open his eyes. It was too warm and comfortable to be his bed, but honestly, he was so tired he didn’t care. But he knew he needed to get up soon, so he grudgingly raised his eyelids, and found himself face to face with Roman.

He was immediately awake, face red, and heart racing. Why the hell was he in Princey’s bed? Let alone Princey’s  _ arms _ !

He sat up and quickly got off the bed, feeling guilty when Roman stirred in his sleep. He stood there for a moment, letting the events of last night sink in. He shivered and sat down.

So, he had kissed Roman. That was fine. There wasn’t anything behind that, right?

Right?

Roman had seemed uncomfortable, so Virgil didn’t want to do anything like that again. He  _ wouldn’t _ do anything like that again.

But Roman had also forced him to sleep in his room. So he wasn’t so uncomfortable that he wouldn’t do that?  
No, Roman was just nice that way. He would’ve done it in any circumstance.

Roman started to wake up, yawning. "Hey, Virgil. How'd you sleep?" He asked. 

Virgil jumped and looked up at him guiltily. “Oh. Hey, Ro. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

"Oh, no, not at all, it's fine," Roman mumbled, still half asleep. He stood up, stretching. "So… will you talk about you being lighter than you should be yet?" Roman asked worriedly.

“Uh…” Virgil squirmed. “I… I guess I kind of have to,” he sighed. “When… sometimes when I feel bad, or like I’ve made a big mistake, I’ll tend to avoid people. And a lot of the time… that includes… avoiding meals…?” He continued quickly when Roman’s eyes widened. “I don’t do it very often anymore, but I used to do it… a lot.”

"That's… really unhealthy, Virge. Are… please tell you haven't been doing that recently," Roman practically pleaded.

“I… I haven’t… not,  _ really _ recently,” He wouldn’t look at Roman. “I think the last time I did it was… three weeks ago? It’s been thinning out, I don’t do it a lot anymore,” He repeated. “And I don’t eat a lot anyway. I rarely have the appetite for it,”

"Virgil…" Roman pulled Virgil into a tight hug. "It's still not healthy, you could get badly hurt doing that," he expressed worriedly. 

Virgil tensed a little inside Roman’s hug, before sighing and relaxing into it. “I know. I’m trying, Ro,”

"Will you let me help you, Virgil?" Roman asked carefully. 

“I… I don’t need help. Not anymore,”

"Anymore, Virgil?" Roman asked. "Please let me help. If I… if I ask the others for… help- will you let  _ me _ help  _ you _ ?"

Virgil looked at him. “Really?”

Roman nodded slowly. "If you'll let me help you, I… I'll try to accept help… when I need it," he mumbled. 

“Well, you  _ do _ need help. And there is nothing wrong with that.”

Roman avoided looking at Virgil, his sight focusing on a blotch of dried paint on the floor. 

“Stop thinking whatever it is you're thinking.” He gripped Roman tighter.

"I-" Roman started. 

The door opened. "Hey Kiddo, have you seen Vir- oh! Awwwww!" Patton exclaimed. 

Virgil jumped away from Roman, turning red. “Oh, hey, uh Padre.”

"Well, kiddos, breakfast is ready," Patton smiled before leaving the room. "Hey, Lo! Guess what?" He shouted. 

Virgil buried his face in his hands. “Oh, no,”

Roman tried not to laugh at Virgil. 'He's cute when he's flustered,' Roman thought to himself. "You alright?" He asked. 

“No, I’m dead,” He curled up in a ball on Roman’s bed, still covering his flushed face. “Don’t bother with a funeral. Just have Janus bury me and hire Remy to play his MCR playlist,”

This time, Roman did laugh. "You'll be fiiine," he said "There's nothing wrong with hugging, Virgil,"

“There is with what Patton will assume along with it,” He muttered so Roman wouldn’t hear.

“What?” Roman questioned. 

“Nothing, I didn’t say anything!” Virgil jumped up and left. “I need to change before we go to breakfast, see you there!” Goddammit, why was Roman so oblivious?

*Tim eSkip to befast*

Roman walked into the kitchen, smelling the waffles. He went to the table, where Logan sat reading a book. “Ah, good morning, Roman. How was your night after we left? I believe you watched a film with Virgil?”

"Yeah, we watched Coco. It was good. How did your date with Patton go?" Roman quickly changed the subject. 

“It was satisfactory. We went for a drive-in movie, Enola Holmes I believe. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think Patton enjoyed it too,” He put his book down.

"That sounds nice! Anything else happen?" Roman asked. 

Logan blushed, trying to keep a straight face. “Um. No, it was quite uneventful after that,” he muttered.

"Mhm. Sure," Roman smirked. Although, he doubted their night was as eventful or full of panic as his.

“What about you?” Logan said spitefully. “Patton has informed me that he found-”

"Ah. Yes, I was comforting Virgil. He… had a nightmare, so I was helping him calm down," Roman gave an excuse.

Logan raised an eyebrow and returned to his book. “Is that so?” he asked.

"Mhm! Once we finished our movie, we both just went to bed. Pretty uneventful!" The Prince smiled innocently.

“Hm. I see,” Logan nodded.

“Hey, Lo. How was your date?” Virgil came downstairs, wearing a different MCR tee and shorts. “What did you guys watch again?”

"We watched Enola Holmes!" Patton exclaimed from the kitchen. "It was tons of fun!

“That is correct,” Logan confirmed.

“Cool. Princey and I just watched Coco,” Virgil rubbed his eyes and sat down. “Did you make any coffee Pat?” The still tired side asked.

"Yup!" Patton replied with a bright smile.

“Thank god,” He put his head in his arms and put them on the table. “I did not get enough sleep,” he muttered.

Logan sent a look his way. “Are you alright, Virgil?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” Virgil questioned.

“You look… paler than usual,” Logan pointed out.

"/Horrible/ morning, everyone," Janus waltzed into the kitchen. 

“Hey, Jan,” Virgil said through his arms.

"Virgil," Janus nodded towards the tired Side.

"Hey there, kiddo! Want some waffles?" Patton asked. 

"/No/, please. Thank you, Patton," Janus said. 

“Greetings, Janus. What did you do while we were gone?” Logan put his book away after getting a look from Patton. “You didn’t watch the movie with Roman and Virgil, did you?”

"No, I /did/. I /wasn’t/ working on a project," Janus claimed. 

“Hm. Now, Virgil-”

Roman interrupted quickly. "Has anyone seen Picani recently? I need to speak with him," he stated.

"Oh, yeah. He’s outside right now! Why?" Patton responded. 

"I… have a question I have to ask him," Roman explained carefully.

“Well, I have a meeting with Thomas about his schedule. I can ask him to summon Emile if that would help, Roman,” Logan added.

Roman nodded. "That'd be great, thank you, Logan," he said half-heartedly.

Virgil looked at Roman, trying to hide how proud he was. He was reaching out, that was a heavy first step. He smiled.

"Alright, kiddos! Waffles are ready!" Patton smiled, carrying a plate with a mountain of waffles on it over to the table. 

“Thank you for supplying the needed sustenance, Patton,” Logan proceeded to put too much yogurt on three waffles and stack them like a Jenga. Virgil grabbed just one, drowning it in syrup.

Everyone else grabbed their waffles and started to eat them. Virgil took a small bite and swallowed, then stopped. “Hm,” He looked frantically at Janus, but he was busy making patterns with his blueberries.

Logan was about to cut a perfect square out of all three waffles when he looked at Virgil again and stopped. “Virgil?”

“Y-yeah, Lo?” He tried to sound casual, but his gut was churning.

“Your complexion is turning… a rather odd shade. Are you sure you’re alright?”

This brought Patton’s attention to Virgil. "You are lookin' a little green kiddo," he mentioned. 

“I-I’m fine,” He looked at Janus again, and this time the snek noticed his gaze.

Janus quickly understood what Virgil meant. "Is it because of that bad fruit you /didn't/ eat yesterday?" He suggested.

“Bad fruit?” Logan questioned.

“Uh, I- I’m gonna be right back-” He stood up and sprinted for the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

“Oh my god. Is he alright?” Patton asked.

Roman got up to check on Virgil. "He should be. I'm going to go check on him though," he muttered, walking off.

Roman knocked on the bathroom door. "Virgil?" He asked quietly. 

There was a weak reply that he couldn’t make out and the sound of Virgil heaving into the toilet. He reached for the knob, and the door was unlocked. Roman rushed inside and knelt next to a vomiting Anxiety, rubbing circles in his back.

The emo leaned against the toilet and sent Roman a grateful look. “Fucking fruit,” He said with a pained smile, then blanched and leaned over the bowl for a second time.

Roman chuckled lightly. “Are you gonna be okay?” he asked softly.

Virgil’s back arched with a final retch, and he sat up with his arms leaning on the rim, panting. “No. I’m going to fucking die,”

“Yeah, you’re not allowed to do that,” Roman smirked.

“It’d be more pleasant than this,” Virgil murmured. “I can’t even take a bite of Waffle without losing my shit,” He leaned back into Roman, looking miserable.

Roman stroked Virgil’s hair, humming that song from Coco, the film they had seen last night. Virgil sighed. “Can you believe that was yesterday?”

“Not really,” Roman said quietly. “A lot happened last night,”

“A little too much, not that the universe gives a fuck about my opinion,” Virgil glared at nobody in particular.

“The universe doesn’t like either of us,” Roman added

“Nope,” Virgil ended the word with a pop.

Roman smirked. “The universe is a bitch,”

Virgil laughed out loud. It was strained but honest. It was a nice sound, and Roman smiled down at Virgil. He wished the circumstances were better.

Patton walked in with Janus. “Are you okay?” Patton asked worriedly.

“I told him you /weren’t/ alright, but he didn’t believe me,” Janus sighed, giving Virgil a sympathetic look.

“Thanks for worrying, Padre, but I’m okay,” He smiled at them. He was feeling better. “I just ate some bad fruit yesterday. My stomach is still sensitive, I guess,”

“Oh. Well, I hope you feel better soon! I guess I’ll head out then, kiddos!” Patton smiled before leaving the room.

Virgil looked at Janus and smirked. “I guess you could say I... ate... the forbidden… fruit…” He almost couldn’t continue through his silent laughter.

Roman started to laugh. “Wh- oh. Yes, /very/ funny, Virgil,” Janus rolled his eyes before leaving the bathroom.

Roman smiled. “It  _ was _ pretty funny, Virgil,” he said.

“I’m just sad Patton left, he would’ve been proud,” He wiped at his face with his elbow, and then made a gagging noise. “Ugh, I need to take a shower,”

“Alright then, I’ll leave you be. I guess I’ll go try to talk to Picani,” he mumbled nervously.

“Oh, I was gonna ask about that. I’m glad you decided to do that, I-I’ve had some conversations with Emile, and he’s good at his job,” He sat up. “He’s also a big fan of all things cartoons, so you two will get right along,”

“Thanks, Virge,” Roman said, truly grateful. “It won’t be easy, trying to get help after hiding from it for so long, but… thank you,”

Virgil smiled at him. “You’re welcome. Now get the hell out, I smell like goat shit and sewer,”

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” Roman stood up leaving the bathroom and going back into the kitchen.

Virgil’s smile stayed while he showered, glad that his friend was taking the first step.

***

Emile had just finished with a session when he could feel Thomas calling him. “Well, I have some time,” He sunk out and rose into Logan’s room. “Hey, Tomallama! Hey, Lo! What’s up?”

“I was requested by Roman to get you, he has something to speak with you about,” Logan said. “I brought it up with Thomas just now,”

“Oh! Well, do you know where he is?”

“Likely in the Imagination,”

“Alrighty! See you, Lo!”

When Emile entered the Imagination, he was once again hit with how much work Roman put into everything he made. Everything in the Imagination was incredibly lifelike and breathtaking in its own way. He appeared in a forest near the edge of a cliff, where Roman was standing. “Hey there, Roman! Logan said you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Um… yeah… I don’t- I honestly don’t know what I’m doing,” Roman admitted, “But Janus told me to come to talk to you about my ‘dilemma’,” Roman used air quotes to emphasize the word dilemma.

“Really? Okay, what’s your dilemma?”

“See, but that’s the thing. I don’t think it’s really that big of a problem, and I don’t wanna waste your time...”

Emile sighed and sat down on the grass at the edge of the cliff. The view was incredible. “Sit down, Roman. Talk to me. About anything you want. You like Disney, right?”

Roman nodded and sat down. “Yeah, I like Disney. Princes, princesses. A world where when things go wrong, it’s an easy fix,” he said dreamily.

“What part of your life do you think would be different if you were in a Disney movie?”

“...I don’t know. A lot of things, really,” he mumbled. “Maybe my brother wouldn’t hate me so much, maybe I’d be happier with my life,”

Emile hummed. “What parts, do you think, would be the same?”

That question made Roman think. It was hard to think of anything in his life that was as perfect in a Disney movie. When Roman was silent for a while, Emile hummed again. “How about people? What people would be the same?”

Roman smiled slightly. “Virgil. And Patton, Logan, Janus, Thomas, you, Remy. Thomas’ friends, too,” he listed.

“That’s a good list, but I noticed something. Something that I think is gonna help me, to help you,” The Dr. leaned back on his hands. “Someone was missing from that list,”

Roman nodded. “I guess so, huh?”

“Roman, can you tell me why you didn’t list yourself?”

Roman sighed. “I guess… cause there’s just so much about me that I wish I could just…  _ change _ ,” he answered quietly.

“Tell me one thing you wouldn’t change about yourself,”

“Oh… well- I guess I- I’m not exactly sure,” Roman looked down at his hands.

Emile smiled sadly. “That’s what I thought. Roman, do you think you are wasting my time?” He said inquisitively.

Roman didn’t respond. “Because I need you to put that thought away, right now. It is, quite literally, my  _ job _ to spend time with you and work through these issues with you. I  _ want  _ to help you. Not only is it my job, but it is also something that I enjoy doing; helping people. Now, you made a very brave first step, inviting me to the Imagination. And that is already a huge thing to do. But it isn’t going to be enough if you leave it here. You need to talk to me and keep talking to me. All those changes you want to see in yourself, we can work for them. But they are not going to come easily. Especially if you don’t think you deserve to be here.” He took the Side by the shoulder. “We can stop any time you want. But I don’t want you to stop for anyone else. If you stop talking with me, I want it to be because you have full confidence in yourself, and in the fact that you don’t need my help anymore.”

Roman was speechless. He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just muttered, “Whoa,”

Emile smiled. “I have a feeling you have some things to think over. I can go for now, if you want me to. I can come back, say, same time tomorrow?”

Roman nodded. “O-okay… as long as you’re sure I’m not-”

“I’m sure, Roman.” He stood up to sink out, then paused. “Oh, and I wanted to compliment your work here. You created all of this?”

“Most of it,” Roman nodded. “Remus made a few things in here, and I made a few things in Remus’ part of the Imagination,”

“This is breathtaking. So much detail… like the rotting of the log on the way here. I think that you and your brother make a wonderful team,” He smiled. “I love it. Have a nice day!” He sunk out.

Roman smiled. “You too,” he called out wondering if Emile had heard him.

***

Virgil and Roman sat on the couch, Nightmare Before Christmas playing on the television. For a while, they just enjoyed the movie as well as each other’s company. Then, when Jack was attempting to explain Christmas, Virgil’s stomach growled. He blushed as Roman looked at him funny. “Oh, sorry. I guess I haven’t eaten anything today, have I?”

Roman looked at him again, a little frantic. “Oh my god! You haven’t? Here, pause the movie, I’ll go see if I can find something you can have,” he said quickly. 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just have a glass of water,” Virgil paused the movie and stood up. “You’re out of popcorn, I can fill that up for you,”

“No, Virge. You need  _ something _ in your stomach or you could pass out,” Roman tried to reason.

Virgil made his way to the kitchen, being followed by Roman. He sighed. “Alright. What do we have that’s ok for me to eat?” He found another package of microwave popcorn.

“I don’t know. I’ll look it up,” By the time Virgil had put the bag in the microwave, Roman had a few options for him to try. “How do you feel about tea and toast?”

“Sounds good,” Virgil responded. 

Roman grabbed some bread and put it in the toaster, then took a bag of chamomile tea and began to prep it. Virgil watched. “Thanks, Princey,”

Roman smirked. “Of course, Emo Nightmare,” he said. 

Anxiety closely mimicked the noise Roman tends to make when he was offended. Roman laughed. “Do you want sugar?” he asked. 

“Nah,” Virgil said.

“Alright then,” Roman muttered to himself.

“What? I don’t really drink tea, is it better with sugar?” Virgil questioned. 

The Prince laughed again. “Yes, it is. Do you put sugar in your coffee?” he responded. 

“Rarely. I like it the way my soul is; black and bitter. Keeps me up longer,” Virgil smirked. 

“Yeah, sure,” Roman smirked into the heating water. “Tell the truth, or I will be forced to put the sugar away,” he said. 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Jeez, fine. I don’t usually put sugar in it, but I do add cream and sometimes caramel. I really do drink it to stay awake,” he mumbled. 

“Yeah, you’re going to want sugar,” Roman responded smugly.

“Fine, whatever,” Virgil responded.

Roman laughed again before putting some sugar into the tea. There was silence except for the sound of the microwave and the tea being heated. Then, “Hey Ro? How did it go with Emile?”

"Oh... well, I guess it went okay?" Roman said quietly.

"Do you think it helped?" Virgil asked.

"Helped? I- I dunno, I guess?" Roman stammered. 

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Virgil moved from leaning on the fridge to standing next to Roman, positioning his hands to warm themselves next to the stove. "I'm glad you think it went well," he smiled softly. 

"I- I don’t- this whole, 'getting help' thing is harder than I expected," Roman admitted quietly.

"If it's going too fast, you can slow down. I doubt Emile would be against changing schedules," Virgil said softly.

Roman nodded slightly. "Y-you think so?" He asked.

"I know so. I told you before, I've worked with Emile. He'll be as flexible as you need him to be, and he has never-ending patience," Virgil sent the Prince a smile. "He knows how to explain you to yourself. It's... ethereal. Did you get along?"

Roman nodded. "We talked about Disney for most of the time,"

Virgil smiled and waited for him to continue.

"He... asked me to think of one thing that I wouldn't change about myself... I couldn’t think of an answer," Roman mumbled.

"Well," Virgil nudged him softly with his elbow, "I wouldn't change you a bit, Princey,"

Roman's face heated up quickly as he turned his head the other way. "O-oh... uh, thanks... Virge,"

"Anytime," he shivered. "Ugh, I think not eating affected my body heat or something, I'm freezing. I'm glad you're making hot tea."

Roman's eyes widened. "You should've said that earlier!" Roman ran out of the kitchen, grabbing a blanket, running back, and throwing it on Virgil's shoulders. "There," he said, "Now you can be warmer,"

"Uh, thanks?" Virgil smiled and wrapped it more fully around himself. The microwave went off, and Virgil went to get the popcorn out.

Roman smiled awkwardly. "Um, yeah,"

"Is the tea ready? This song is one of the creepier ones," Virgil opened the popcorn and dumped it into the bowl.

"Almost," Roman replied.

“Excellent,” Virgil said in the voice he reserved for when he wanted to creep someone out. The toast popped up.

Roman laughed and grabbed a paper plate, setting the fresh toast on it. Virgil took the plate and proceeded to put excessive amounts of butter on the bread.

Roman laughed. "That is... a  _ lot _ of butter," he said. 

"It's the best way to eat toast," The Emo insisted, pushing the bowl of popcorn across the counter in Roman's direction.

"Okay," Roman smirked. "You can have your opinion," he said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me it's better to eat it without butter?" Virgil questioned. 

"Not  _ without _ butter, just not  _ that much _ butter,"

"Well, have you tried it with this much butter?" Virgil said stubbornly.

"No, I haven't," Roman admitted, giggling.

"Well, there are two pieces," Virgil shoved the plate in the Prince's direction. "Try it," he suggested. 

"That's your food, though! I don’t want to take it from you!" Roman exclaimed.

"Just take a bite, I think I can handle it without two more inches. I'll eat the rest of it if it makes you feel better," Virgil said. 

"Alright, fine," Roman responded. He picked up a slice of toast and took a bite. "Holy-"

"Well?" Virgil smirked.

Roman set the toast down. "I don't think that it's legal for anything to taste that good," he whispered. 

"Exactly. You're welcome," Virgil smiled and started to put the bread away for Roman, then paused and put another slice in the toaster. "Now I can have two pieces, and you can have the slice you bit into," He took a bite of the other buttered slice.

Roman hesitated before taking the piece of toast he had taken a bite out of. "Thanks, Vee,"

"Ym wemcm," Virgil didn't really try to speak through the mouthful of toast. He hadn't seen Roman laugh this much for a long time, and wanted to keep that going.

Roman laughed. "Don't eat with your mouth full- wait... I meant talk! Don't talk with your mouth full," he corrected himself.

Virgil started to laugh, then almost choked on his toast. That made him laugh harder.

Roman's face reddened. "It's not  _ that _ funny," he defended.

Virgil laughed harder at Roman's red face then started to cough through his laughter. "I'm choking-" he wheezed through chuckles.

"Don't do that-!" Roman laughed.

He swallowed and went to get a glass of water. "I can’t-" he continued to chuckle until he got a drink and got the toast down the right pipe.

"You alright?" The prince smiled.

"I'm fine," Virgil's grin was wide and didn't seem to want to leave his face. "I just started to laugh before I could swallow and it went down the wrong pipe," He took another sip. "Don’t worry about it,"

Roman looked closely at Virgil, noticing something different. "Whoa," he mumbled.

Virgil set the water down. "What?" He asked. 

"Your eyeshadow changed colors- it's purple-" Roman breathed.

"It-it is?" Virgil touched his face.

Roman nodded. "You- uh... it looks really... cool," he stumbled over his words. "Can I take a picture? T-to show you?" He asked. 'And stare at for hours?' He thought to himself.

Virgil nodded absentmindedly, rubbing at his eyeshadow and looking at his fingers. "Woah," he smiled in awe at the color. "That's- I didn't know that could happen," he mumbled. 

Roman walked over to him, grabbing his phone. "Here, lift your head a bit," he lifted Virgil's chin slightly with his fingers. "You smudged it, silly," Roman grabbed a paper towel, wetting it slightly and fixing Virgil's eyeshadow.

(Authors.exe has stopped working)

Virgil’s heart skipped a beat and he blushed hard, staring at Roman's concentrated face and feeling a buzz where the man’s hands met his skin. "Um. Thanks, Ro." 'Oh, god, he's touching my fucking face, what the hell is this-'

Roman stepped away slightly. "Sorry," he laughed. He got the picture and showed it to Virgil.

"Wow," Virgil breathed. "That's-its so different. Almost... iridescent. Thank you, Roman. I don't think I would've noticed,"

Roman smiled. "It's a good look on you," he said.

Virgil blushed harder. "Th-thanks," He swallowed. The toast popped up, and he jumped, startled. He let out a nervous chuckle. "We should get back to the movie,"

Roman cleared his throat. "Um, y-yeah,"

There was an awkward silence while Virgil buttered the toast and then poured the tea into his coffee thermos. He took a sip, then a long, slow gulp. "Oh, that's the shit," 

Roman chuckled. "I knew you'd want sugar," he mumbled.

Virgil said shut up with his eyes but continued to drink the tea. It felt so good on his throat, and it was the perfect temperature. He would have to make more later. He picked up his plate and nodded at Roman's popcorn bowl. "Don't forget that," he reminded the Prince.

"Thanks," Roman grabbed the bowl of popcorn and walked back into the living room.

They continued their movie, and it wasn't too long before Virgil's eyeshadow returned to black. Roman would know, he spent every moment he could looking at it shine in the light from the TV.

At some point, Roman got tired, so he laid his head on Virgil’s lap. Virgil turned red, but took a breath and put his hand on Roman's head, running his fingers through his fluffy hair.

Roman hummed contentedly. " 'm sleepy," he mumbled, already half asleep.

"I know, Ro," Virgil smiled at tired Roman.  _ 'Shit, he's cute, _ ' "I'll wake you up when the movie's over,"

"M'kay," Roman muttered, cuddling up closer into Virgil.

Virgil's heart fluttered, and he spent the rest of the movie trying not to stare at Roman and failing miserably. He didn't even pay attention to the death of the boogie man, which was usually his favorite part.

When the movie was over, he grudgingly rubbed Roman's back to wake him up. "Hey, time for bed. It's one-thirty,"

Roman stirred a bit. " 'don't wanna," could faintly be heard.

_ 'Why me, Lord,' _ Virgil thought miserably.  _ ‘Puppy eyes would have been kinder.’ _ "C'mon, you're going to get a crick in your neck from this position," He continued like he wasn't about to have a heart attack.

Roman shook his head tiredly. "Hm-mm," he whined quietly.

"Come on Ro, your bed is more comfortable," Virgil said quietly _. 'Don't give in don't give in don't give in don't you fucking dare give in-' _

"Don't agree," Roman murmured.

"Don't you want a pillow?" Virgil asked.

"Have one," the prince mumbled.

_ 'I swear to god don't give in he's a little shit don't let him win-'  _ Virgil spluttered and turned red. "I'm not a pillow, Ro, and you can't sleep on the couch,"  _ 'Don't do it Virgil you have a reputation to uphold-' _

Roman opened his eyes slightly. "Pweeease?" 🥺

_ 'Nooo-'  _ Virgil's will crumbled. "Fine. But I'm going to bed," He made a move to stand up.

"Nuuuuu-" Roman whined.

“Roman, please,” Virgil practically begged.

“Virgeyyyyy,” Roman murmured. 

Virgil welcomed death. “No, Roman. I’m not comfortable enough in this position to sleep like this,” Lies, he would sleep on needles for that tired whine.

Roman pouted. “M’kay,” he mumbled sadly.

Virgil’s heart broke.  _ ‘Not the pout, he’s a literal child-’ _ he sighed. “At least let me get you a blanket and something for me to do. I’m not tired,” Maybe he could salvage a bit of his reputation by staying awake with a book or something.

“Liar,” Roman accused, falling asleep again.

“Roman, don’t you dare-” The Emo groaned as he felt the man’s breathing even out. “You need a blanket, damn you!” He slowly tried to slide himself out from under Roman’s head. Roman frowned but sat up a little. Virgil gratefully stood up and went to get a second blanket and a pillow from one of the armchairs. He kneeled by the couch and spread the blanket over the groggy Prince.

“You came back,” Roman smiled tiredly.

“I was getting a blanket, Ro,” He said with an exhausted smile in return.  _ ‘Oh no, he really doesn’t want me to leave.’ _ “We both really should go to our rooms,” Roman shook his head.

Virgil sighed. If he was going to go down, he was going down all the way. “Move over, Ro,”

Roman grinned sleepily. “Really?” he asked softly.

“Yeah. Really,”

Roman moved over slightly, waiting for Virgil to join him. He looked up. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Virgil laid down on the couch, so his head was on the low armrest, and Roman’s head was resting on the MCR logo on his shirt. “Yeah, well; it’s hard to say no to you when you’re like this,” He repositioned the blanket so it was over both of them.

Roman smiled tiredly, falling asleep. Virgil smiled and tried not to think about how everyone would see them like this tomorrow, and just laid there for a while.

He was going to regret this, wasn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!  
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Oh, and me and my co-author have a weird thing for Remy and Emile.  
> So Remy and Picani are a part of Thomas, but they can go away from Thomas and they have lives of their own. Whereas the Sides can exit the Mindscape, but they can't go away from Thomas and only he (and his friends) can see them.  
> Also, Thomas can summon them, and if they want to, they can come.  
> Sorry if that was confusing.


	4. Nightmare or Daydream?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea (In more ways than one)

Roman woke up confused. He thought there was an earthquake happening for a second. Then he noticed Virgil was shaking in his sleep.

Virgil's arms closed in around him and he whimpered.

Roman was immediately awake. "Vee, wake up," he whispered frantically.

In the dim light, he could see the fangs growing out over Virgil's lip, threatening to hit his wobbling chin. "No, no no-" Virgil murmured. He curled his legs toward his chest

"Hey, wake up-" Roman lightly shook Virgil's shoulder.

"Roman," tears leaked from his eyes, and six more legs came to wrap around his chest, like a protective cocoon. "Pat, Lo-"

"Virgil, it's okay. It's just a dream, Vee," Roman whispered. 

Virgil let out a choked sob and called out their names again, curling himself into a fetal position, four eyes streaming.

"Vee, wake up! You're okay. It's just a dream- please wake up," Roman said frantically.

Virgil's eyes opened with a short gasp for air, and for a moment he lay there, trembling. Then he blinked. "R-Rom-man?" He stammered. 

"I'm here. You're okay. It was just a dream," Roman said softly.

"I- I-" Virgil's legs left his chest as he sat up and curled himself around Roman instead. "Y-y-you-" He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. 

"It's okay. I'm here," Roman comforted.

Virgil openly sobbed into Roman's shoulder, holding him tightly. "Roman," this time his whimper was relieved.

"You're okay, Vee," Roman said softly. 

After a minute of tears and quiet reassurance, Virgil's spider attributes slowly began to sink back. Roman's shirt was soaked.

Roman pulled Virgil into a tighter embrace. "What happened?" He asked softly

"I-i-it was the other n-night," Virgil stuttered. "Except I went into my r-room, an-and..." He stopped and shuddered. "I turned ar-round and th-there was n-no d-door, just n-n-nothing," He tried to explain. 

Roman sighed. "You're okay now. I'm not gonna leave your side," Roman whispered. 

"I couldn't f-f-find you," Virgil sobbed. "I c-couldn't f-find an-anyone," Virgil felt pathetic, but he just needed to know he wasn't alone. "D-don't, don't g-go," he begged.

"I won't," Roman promised. "I'm not gonna leave you."

Virgil held onto Roman like he was going to slip out of his fingers, while Roman stroked his back in patterns. He relaxed a bit, leaning into Roman hard. "I- I'm sorry I woke y-you up," he mumbled. 

"No, don't be. I'm glad you did," Roman whispered.

"You d-didn't get much sleep last night either, cause of me," Virgil said quietly. 

"It isn't your fault," Roman muttered.

"O-ok," Virgil wasn't convinced, but he wasn't in the right mindset to argue. 

"I'm here for you, Vee," Roman assured.

Virgil didn't answer and just buried his face into Roman’s chest.

"D'you think you could get more sleep?" Roman asked. 

Virgil shook his head.

"Okay," Roman nodded. "That's okay."

"You should go to sleep though," Virgil said weakly. "I'll be fine."

"Nah," Roman responded. "I don't usually get much sleep anyway," he lightly patted Virgil's shoulder. 

"Mm." Virgil pulled away and wiped at his eyes. "Oh damn, I ruined my eyeshadow, didn't I? I'm sorry you had to see me like this," He mumbled. 

"Doesn't matter. You look fine," Roman smiled slightly.

"I'm gonna clean up real quick." He stood up, his legs a little wobbly. "Dammit, I ripped another shirt," Virgil cursed.

"You can borrow one of mine," Roman suggested, helping Virgil keep steady.

"Um, are you sure?" Virgil blushed. "I could just-" he stopped. "Yeah, I'm not going back into my room. Okay, I guess," Virgil said.

Roman stood as well and walked to his room. He grabbed a dark magenta t-shirt and headed out to Virgil

"Thanks," He took off his shirt and took Roman's.

_ 'Oh shit he's hot' _ Roman thought to himself. 

"You didn't have to do that." Virgil pulled the shirt over his head. "I need to wash my face, my eyeshadow is probably everywhere," he muttered. 

"I have some makeup wipes in my desk," Roman said.

"Uh, thanks," Virgil made his way towards Roman's room and looked around the top of the desk. "Hey, where on your desk?" he asked.

"Oh. Middle drawer on the left," Roman responded. 

He came out of Roman's room and headed to the bathroom, but was met by Logan standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Virgil," Logan said with angry grogginess. "Would you like to explain why you were in Roman's room at Three twenty-four AM?"

Virgil turned red. "-uh-" he mumbled. 

"Roman? Would you like to add anything to that intelligent statement?" Logan called softly down the stairs, trying not to wake up Patton.

Roman rushed up the stairs. "Oh... hey, Lo... what- what's up?" He asked.

"You two, apparently. Why was Virgil in your room?" Logan questioned. 

"He was just getting a makeup wipe," Roman stated simply.

"Is that so. And why is he wearing your shirt?" Logan quizzed. 

"It got- juice spilled on it," Roman said quickly. "I- I mean, his- his shirt did."

"Why were you drinking juice at 3 am? And I thought your stomach was upset?" Logan raised an eyebrow. 

"I- it was. I'm doing better now." Virgil was  _ very _ red. "I couldn't sleep," he said.

Roman nodded.

"Hmm. I suppose those are satisfactory answers. There is one thing you missed," Logan rubbed his eyes. "Why are you both so nervous about telling me this? If your story is true, then there is nothing to be nervous about," His sharp eyes pinned them down.

Virgil gulped.

"I- we thought we were being quiet. We didn't mean to wake anyone," Roman quickly said. 

"Hmm. I will, metaphorically, 'drop it' for now, but I will be asking more questions in the morning. And I will be bringing Janus with me. Now, go to sleep or I will tranquilize you," Logan went back into his room and closed the door behind him.

Virgil let out a breath.

"Holy-" Roman gasped. "Do you think Janus- do you think he'll tell Lo we're lying?" 

"Quiet, let's go downstairs. Logan has the ears of a fucking bat," He grabbed Roman's wrist and pulled him down the stairs. "I don't know," Virgil groaned. "Actually, he might not even wait for us to talk, and just go 'oh yeah, look at those fibbers, Imma leave them for dead," Virgil mimicked. 

"That-l- you really think that?" Roman asked worriedly.

"He's an asshole. I don't know," Virgil went into the downstairs bathroom and viciously wiped underneath his eyes. "Maybe he'll cover for us. Maybe he'll smirk and let Logan give us The Talk™️. I don't fucking know!"

Roman took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's just hope that he'll cover for us," he muttered. 

Virgil took a shaky breath and nodded, switching to the other eye. "Yeah. I guess that's all we can do, huh," Virgil mumbled. 

"Virgil, you have... freckles?" Roman exclaimed.  _ 'That's so cute Holy shit!' _

"What?" Virgil looked at Roman funny then flushed. "Oh no, my foundation. Dammit, sorry, let me go get it," he muttered. 

"No, don’t- I can't say this without sounding weird. Uh... you look- youlookreallycute-!" Roman exclaimed quietly. 

"I look-" Virgil honestly thought he was going to die. "You-you-" he covered his face.

"I'm sorry! That- that was so weird-!" Roman was quick to apologize. 

"No! I just-I just always thought my freckles were-well-dumb." He covered his cheeks and nose. "I've never thought of them like- like anything but that." he mumbled. 

"Seriously? But you're so-just-like adorable-!" Roman could have died right there on the spot. 

"I- Um. Thanks," he muttered.  _ 'Just fucking kill me, God. Him touching my face was better than this,'  _ Virgil thought to himself. "I guess."

"Sorry! That's so weird!" Roman apologized again. 

"No, not weird, just... new, I guess." Virgil hesitantly removed his hands, wringing them together. "Um, you're the only person who knows, I think."

"I- I really can't say anything without sounding weird right now," Roman mumbled. 

"You don't sound weird. I'm just not good at receiving compliments." Virgil admitted. 

"You just look...  _ so _ cute. Like- I can't- function" Roman stumbled over his words. 

"It-its fine." Virgil rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I'm just... an absolute disaster," Roman sighed.

"Yeah, well, you're not alone," Virgil laughed lightly. 

"Well, now I guess since I know one of your secrets, it's only fair if I tell you one of mine," Roman proclaimed.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Virgil reassured him. "I mean, now I'm super curious but if you don't want to, it's totally fine,"

Roman nodded. "Close your eyes," he said. 

"Um, I don't know..." Virgil said worriedly. 

"It's nothing bad," Roman promised. He put his hand over Virgil's eyes. "Are they closed now?" He asked.

Virgil flushed and closed his eyes. "Yeah,"

"Good. Keep 'em that way," Roman moved his hand away. He went to his desk, taking out his contacts. He grabbed his glasses and put them on.

Roman took a deep breath, turning to Virgil. "Okay," he mumbled, "You can open your eyes," he said hesitantly. 

Virgil opened his eyes and just stared for a minute.  _ 'Fuck, I fell for a dork with glasses who wears a fucking sash all the time, what the hell is wrong with me?' _ He thought. 

Roman tilted his head. "You okay?" He asked.

"Uh..." Virgil didn't move.  _ 'And he's fucking adorable. Shit.' _

"I- they look awful, don't they? I hate them so much, I-" Roman rambled. 

"Shut the fuck up." Virgil moved forward and pressed his mouth to Roman's, initiating the kiss he had wanted for way too long.

Roman's eyes widened before he sunk into the embrace and kissed Virgil back.

After a moment, he pulled away a little and rested his forehead against Roman's. "Don't you fucking dare say anything like that about yourself ever again," He smiled. "Or I'll prove you wrong,"

Roman's face somehow got even redder. "I- literally can't think of anything to say right now," he admitted.

"So don't talk," Virgil closed the space between them a second time, taking Roman's hand and intertwining their fingers.

Roman pulled away. "Stupid oxygen," he muttered.

"Bane of our existence," Virgil replied.

Roman laughed lightly.

Virgil smiled and leaned his head against Roman's shoulder. "How long have you had glasses?"  _ 'If you had shown them earlier, I wouldn't have had to wait so long to kiss you, you dork,'  _ he thought to himself.

"Like, as long as I can remember, I guess," Roman replied.

"Why don't you wear them?" He rubbed his thumb along the back of his hand.

"I- don't... I guess I just don't like how I look with them…?" he said.

"Well, you look fucking cute," Virgil muttered.

Roman stopped breathing for a second. "You- you really think that-?" he asked.

"Why do you think I finally got the courage to kiss you?" Virgil stepped back a bit and admired Roman's face. "You look adorable."

Roman felt like he might die. "I-" he couldn’t put together a full sentence.

Virgil smirked and kissed him on the nose. "Now you know how I felt about my freckles," he stated.

"I- doubt you hate your freckles as much as I hate my glasses," Roman mumbled, face flushing a bit.

"I meant being flustered, Princey, but that works too. Because I've hidden my freckles for as long as you hid your glasses, haven't, I?" Virgil questioned.

"Y-yeah, I guess.. just-I got bullied by Remus a lot, so I just-I dunno," Roman stuttered.

"Oh," Virgil shoved his anger into the pit of his stomach and pushed Roman's hair out of his face. "Well, you look perfect to me," he claimed.

"Thanks, I guess..." Roman whispered.

Virgil smiled at him. "And now I really do need to get my foundation. Patton would never let me be again if he knew I had freckles," he said.

Roman laughed lightly. "I guess I should take the glasses off," he claimed.

Virgil nodded and went up the stairs with Roman, still entwining their fingers. He didn't leave when Roman headed into his room "Where do you keep them?" He asked.

"Why?" Roman asked.

"So I can get them for you if you ever need them," He squeezed his hand. "Is that okay?"

Roman nodded. "Oh. Currently, I keep them in my desk, bottom drawer to the right. But I move them occasionally, sometimes Remus finds them and breaks them,” he explained.

Virgil sucked in a breath. "Why would he break them?" he asked.  _ 'Calm down he'll think you're mad at him.'  _ he scolded himself.

"Oh. Uh- I'm not sure, exactly. He-he just does, I guess..?" Roman said.

Virgil made a fist and took a deep breath. "Alright. Just, let me know where they are from time to time," he requested.

"I will," Roman promised.

Virgil smiled and released his hand so he could put away his glasses more easily.

Roman smiled back, face still pink. He put his glasses away and put his contacts back in. "Better hurry," Roman said quietly. "There's only a couple minutes until Patt wakes up,"

"Oh, damn, you're right, he always gets up early to make breakfast," Virgil hurried to his room. When he stepped inside he froze.

"Vee?" Roman asked, hearing the quickened footsteps stop. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," Virgil shook himself and quickly got his foundation from his vanity. He hurried out of the room and headed to the upstairs bathroom.

"You sure?" Roman questioned worriedly.

"Yeah," Virgil took a deep breath and began to apply his foundation carefully, "I just. didn't prepare myself to go back in there," he said. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Roman responded. "It makes sense.”

"I guess," Virgil sighed. "It’s just- it’s stupid that I'm afraid of my own room."

"It isn't stupid. You have your reasoning," Roman said softly.

"I mean, stupid that it makes sense," Virgil sighed again. "Now I'm not making sense," he muttered.

"No, I understand... I think," Roman laughed lightly and Virgil walked out of the bathroom. "I think I like you better with the freckles," he stated.

"Oh, shut up." Virgil was glad for the fresh layer of foundation hiding his blush. "Patton's probably already putting on his glasses."

"I guess we should go down to the kitchen so we can help him with breakfast, then; I usually do when I'm awake this early and other ungodly hours of the night," Roman claimed.

"Yeah. And, uh..." Virgil swallowed. "How do you make tea?"

"I can show you, if you'd like," Roman suggested.

"That'd be great." Virgil smiled.

They walked down to the kitchen. "Grab a mug, fill a pot with hot water," Roman instructed.

"Can I use my thermos instead?" Virgil asked.

"Oh. Yeah, that works," Roman replied, grabbing a mug for himself.

Virgil grabbed a pot from the cupboard and turned on the faucet. "Oh, dammit, you said hot water," he muttered.

"That's alright, it'll just take a little longer," Roman said simply.

"Oh, okay," Virgil filled it and put it on the stove. "I need to turn it on, right? What setting?" he questioned.

"Probably high, since the water isn't hot," Roman decided.

"Alright," the emo replied.

"What kind of tea do you want? We have quite a few," Roman asked.

"I mean, I honestly have no idea what the difference is?" Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. "So, what's your favorite?" he asked.

"I like the raspberry, but most people don't like fruity teas," Roman muttered.

"I like raspberries. If I don't like it you can have mine," Virgil said.

"Alright," Roman smiled.

"So how do we add the flavoring?" The anxious side questioned.

Roman chuckled lightly. "Teabags. They're filled with whatever the tea is and some other stuff. You just put it in the hot water and let it steep for a few minutes. Sugar added as necessary," he said.

"Using a revolutionary technique?" Virgil teased.

"Shut up," Roman laughed.

"So where do we keep the teabags?" Virgil asked.

"Pantry," Roman answered simply.

"That's specific," He muttered. He opened the pantry and stepped inside. "Where in the pantry, Princey?" He asked.

"Third shelf on the right," the prince replied.

Virgil picked up a box and almost dropped it immediately. "Holy shit, how much tea do we have?"

"Like twenty-six boxes or something like that," Roman estimated.

"Why the hell-?" Virgil mumbled.

"There's a lot of different flavors," Roman defended.

"Yeah, but why do we have so many of them?" Virgil dropped the box harshly on the counter. "I thought you guys were addicted to jam, not tea!"

"Only I usually drink tea. I probably need to go through and throw the ones that I don't like out," Roman said, making a mental note to do that some point soon.

"We'll do that later," Virgil pulled out a red one. "For now... Oh, hibiscus? That sounds cool. But where's raspberry?" he asked.

Roman walked over to Virgil. He immediately found the raspberry. "Right here," he said.

"Oh. I wanna try hibiscus later. But first, show me Raspberry," Virgil said.

"Okay," Roman opened the box. He pulled out two teabags. "How much sugar?" He asked.

"I don’t know, you're the tea expert here," Virgil remarked.

Roman snickered. "I wouldn't say expert," he said.

"You have over two dozen boxes of tea. What else would you call yourself?" Virgil quizzed.

"...Okay, maybe," Roman admitted.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Virgil smirked.

Roman rolled his eyes. "But I always put a lot of sugar in my tea," he explained.

"Okay, so we'll tamper. You have a lot of tea, I think we can waste some on experiments," Virgil pointed out. "And we can always give it to Logan."

"Logan only drinks coffee," Roman claimed.

"Bruh, he drinks tea when he's stressed, and Thomas has been reading a lot of science fiction lately." He picked up a teabag. "This will flavor the whole pot?" He asked.

"Just your cup," Roman responded.

"Oh," Virgil peered at it. "Huh."

"You're adorable," Roman smiled.

"You're an addict," Virgil turned on the stove and left the kitchen to get his thermos from the living room.

"Am not!" Roman defended.

"Twenty-six!" Virgil called from the living room.

"I don't even use all of them!" Roman countered.

"The fact that they exist is proof against that! You have to conjure everything you eat!" Virgil playfully argued.

"Some of them sounded good, but they didn't taste good! I just haven't thrown them out!" Roman laughed.

"Hmmm," Virgil walked back into the kitchen and booped him on the nose. "Yeah, you're an addict."

"Whatever," Roman rolled his eyes and rubbed at his nose.

"Hey, kiddos! Why are the two of you up so early?" Patton asked, walking in.

"Oh, hey Pat. Roman's teaching me how to make tea," Virgil smiled.

"Awh! That's so sweet!" Patton exclaimed.

"Kind of like the tea when Roman’s done putting sugar in it," Virgil smirked.

Roman's face reddened. "Just like you, Vee!" he added.

Virgil flushed and pushed Roman's shoulder. "Fuck off," he mumbled.

"Language!" Patton shouted.

"Sorry, Pat." Virgil blanched. "Why are you so scary?"

Patton smiled. "I have Lo,"

"Understandable have a nice day," Virgil turned to the stove. "Do I put the bag in now or later?" he asked.

"Put the hot water in your thermos and put some in my mug too, please," Roman instructed.

"Do I use a ladle or..?" Virgil’s sentence trailed off.

Roman snickered, "Here," he picked up the pot and carefully poured the water into the thermos and mug.

"Stop it!" Virgil groaned. "You're giving me anxiety and I  _ am _ Anxiety!"

"Calm down, Stormcloud. I do this all the time," Roman said carelessly.

"That doesn't make the tea less hot," Virgil muttered.

"It isn't tea yet," Roman smirked. He set the pot down. "Alright, now put the teabag in."

"Hnnngh," he grumbled and carefully put the bags in so they wouldn't splash. "Why do you do this to me?" He asked.

“Now we add the sugar,” Roman said, ignoring Virgil.

"Where's the sugar?" Virgil questioned.

"In the pantry on the top shelf on the left," Roman said as if it were common knowledge.

Virgil went into the pantry and looked up. "Uh, can you get it?" he asked, a little embarrassed.

Roman smiled. "Yeah," he laughed.

"Not a word, Princey." Virgil glared at him.

Roman got the sugar down and handed it to Virgil, trying not to smirk.

"Thank you," Virgil took the sugar and put it on the counter.

"Two heaping spoonfuls," Roman said. "At least for mine, anyway.”

"That is an incredibly unhealthy water to sugar ratio, Roman," Logan walked in, rubbing his eyes. "I would also appreciate it if you could pour me a mug as well," he muttered.

"Told you Logan drank tea," Virgil smirked.

Roman rolled his eyes. "What kind?" He asked.

"Peppermint is preferable, but anything herbal will be satisfactory. Good Morning, Patton,"

“Morning, Lo!" Patton grinned.

Roman got the peppermint tea out of the pantry.

He grabbed the pot again, pouring a mug for Logan and putting the teabag in.

"Thank you, Roman," Logan took out a spoon and stirred it in the mug. "Oh, and Janus is preparing himself for the day. I have informed him of our... discussion,"

"Oh. Okay," Roman mumbled.

"What discussion?" Patton asked.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," Virgil smiled nervously as he stirred his tea. "Don't worry about it, Padre."

Logan raised an eyebrow but continued to stir.

"Lo?" Patton asked, "What discussion?"

"If Virgil and Roman do not wish to speak about it now, I will not interfere. As I'm sure they will give you the details later." Logan said, glaring at Virgil and Roman.

Virgil swallowed. "Uh, Ro, how long do I need to stir for?" He asked.

"Not very long, and honestly, you could just let it sit for a little while and stir it a bit after," Roman responded.

"Alright," Virgil stopped stirring and looked at Patton. "Hey, Padre, what did you plan to make for breakfast?" He asked.

"Oh! I was gonna do pancakes and bacon. How does that sound to all of you?" Patton asked.

"That sounds wonderful, thank you," Logan hesitated and then kissed him on the cheek and made to leave the kitchen. "I will likely be late, however, considering the amount of research I need to be doing at the moment. I will return when you call me," He left.

"Alright, Lolo! Don't overwork yourself, okay?" Patton exclaimed.

"I won’t," Logan promised.

Virgil smiled at them being cute. "Pancakes sound great, Padre. Do you mind if I help?" He asked.

"Oh, sure!" Patton grinned. "Would you mind grabbing the bacon from the fridge?” 

"Not at all," Virgil opened the fridge and took out a package of Bacon. He relaxed a little, he knew how bacon worked. Tea wasn't all that complicated but it was a new process.

Roman stirred his tea, taking a sip to test it. "Mmm... the tea's ready, Vee," he informed the anxious side.

"Oh heeeck yes," Virgil glanced at Patton and changed the word halfway though. "Thanks, Roman."

Roman nodded. "Try it. Do you like it?" He asked.

Virgil took a sip. "Mm. That's a lot more flavorful than the tea you made me last night. It has a nice flavor, though." he said contentedly.

"Definitely my personal favorite," Roman smiled.

"I can't really judge it until I have a general idea of what most tea tastes like, but I like it," Virgil decided. He set a pan on the stove, turning it on.

Patton started to work on the pancake mix. "So how did you two sleep?" He asked.

Virgil concentrated on taking the bacon out of the package. "Um, fine. Do you think we need another package of bacon?" He quickly tried to change the subject.

"No, I think that should be fine," Patton smiled.

"Right," Virgil put the last one that would fit in the pan and took a nervous sip of the tea.

"So, Vee. Is it too sweet?" Roman asked.

"No, but I used about a quarter of what you did," Virgil mentioned.

"Oh Yeah, that makes sense," Roman responded. "I just love things that are super sweet," he glanced at Virgil.

Virgil turned red. "Look here, Prin-ow!" While he was distracted, he accidentally touched his hand to the hot pan. "Oh, dammit!"

"Shit, Virgil! Are you okay?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna let those slide," Patton muttered to himself.

Virgil hissed in pain and went to run his hand underneath the faucet. "Yeah, my hand just hit the pan, it's fine. Could you get some burn ointment?" He asked.

"Yeah," Roman left to get the ointment.

"Oh, sorry for swearing, Pat," Virgil slowly turned the faucet to a cooler temperature.

"It's okay, you got hurt. Just don't curse again, please," Patton replied.

"I'll try my best, Padre," Virgil mumbled. 'Great, you're already on his bad side, and you could be exposed later and he's going to hate you- He took a shaky breath and hid his panic. "Sorry."

"As I said; it's okay," Patton said, smiling.

Roman came back into the kitchen with the ointment.

"Thanks, Ro," Virgil gave him a shaky smile and carefully dried his hand with a paper towel. "Here, I can put it on."

"No, let me. I- I'm sorry for distracting you..." Roman mumbled.

Virgil held out his hand to Roman and figured it was his turn to be a flirt. "It's fine. You're pretty distracting, you can't help it," he smirked.

Roman's face reddened. "Well, then I guess I'll have to try and stay away when you're trying to stay focused," Roman joked.

"Nah," Virgil hissed a little when the cold ointment came in contact with his skin.

"Sorry," Roman said quickly.

"It's fine, it was just the sudden cold," Virgil muttered.

Janus walked in.

"Hey, Janus!" Patton greeted.

"Hello. What /didn't/ happen in here?" Janus asked.

"I burned my hand on the p- oh, the bacon! Jan, can you flip that?" Virgil asked.

Janus nodded. "/No/. Is everything alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Virgil claimed.

Janus went to the bacon and took over. "Logan informed me that he believes you're /not/ lying about something. Care to explain?" He asked.

"Oh, right." Virgil gulped. "Well, we and Roman were up a bit later than we assumed and I spilled something on my shirt so I got one of Roman’s, and Logan saw me coming out of the room." he tried.  _ 'Please don't call me out, I don't want Patton to assume things,’ _ he thought.

"Why /didn't/ you spill something on your shirt?" Janus played along.

"I, uh," Virgil had an idea and looked the snake in the eye. "There was a spider."  _ 'Get the hint, get the hint-' _ He mentally begged.

Janus was confused for a moment before understanding the nervous glances from both Sides. "I see.. well then there seems that there /wasn't/ a misunderstanding somewhere with Logan," Janus announced.

Virgil relaxed.

Roman silently let go of a breath he didn't notice he was holding.

"There was a spider? Is everything okay?" Patton exclaimed.

"Oh, uh, it just startled me, Pat," Virgil's spirits sank, but he didn't show it. "If I had seen it beforehand I wouldn't have jumped. It's fine," he muttered.

"Oh, alright," Patton smiled. "Well, the pancakes are done," he said.

"I'll go set the table," Virgil grabbed some plates and retreated to the dining room.

"l’ll help," Roman said, grabbing a few cups and rushing to follow Virgil. They finished setting the table and Roman pulled Virgil into a tight hug.

Virgil sighed. "Thanks, Ro."

"Are you okay?" Roman whispered.

"I told you, Ro," Virgil gritted his teeth, now was not the time for emotions. "He hates spiders," he whispered the last part.

"It'll be okay. And you don't have to tell him," Roman responded softly.

"We live in the same mind, Roman. He's going to find out eventually," Virgil said anxiously.

"He's not going to hate you," Roman tried to comfort the anxious side. "You'll be alright, Vee," he said carefully.

"Thanks," Virgil pulled away. "I'll get the forks."

Roman nodded. "Alright," he said quietly.

Virgil headed back to the kitchen and grabbed the forks. He saw Janus smirking at him. "Stop that," he mumbled.

"Stop what?" Janus asked knowingly.

"You know what," Virgil hissed.

"I've no clue what you mean," Janus claimed.

"Janus I swear to god-" Virgil was just getting angrier.

Janus smirked once more before heading to the dining room.

Virgil grabbed the forks and knives and went after him, Patton flipping the last pancake onto the carrier as he passed. He came into the dining room and slammed a fork down on the table. "Janus, you little shit, stop it!" he exclaimed.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Roman asked.

"What's all the yelling about?" Patton stepped in.

Virgil sent Janus a look that meant  _ I hope you know you're a bitch _ . "It's nothing," he muttered.

"Well, if you're sure... alright," Patton smiled. "I'm going to go get Lo," he claimed, leaving the kitchen.

"Okay," Virgil and Janus seemed to be having a battle between the eyes.

As Patton left it became silent. "Um... I'm not sure what's happening- but maybe could we just not- uh... not get in a big fight about it?" Roman asked.

"Janus, do you have to be a little shit around Patton?" Virgil hissed. "Why do you always do this?"

"I /do/ always do this. It just seems you're /not/ a bit more sensitive as of late," Janus claimed.

"Excuse me?" Virgil exclaimed.

"Guys-" Roman said quietly.

"Well sue me if a psycho rat had been-what, Roman?" Virgil started.

"I- I'm sorry," Roman whispered. His eyes were slightly glassy.

"What?" Virgil turned to Roman and his eyes widened. "Oh, no, I'm sorry-" Virgil went and hugged Roman. "I'm so sorry, I should have paid more attention to how you were feeling," he muttered.

"T- I'm sorry... I don't know why I'm so vulnerable right now,” Roman whimpered slightly.

"No, it's okay, Princey," Virgil waved Janus over, mouthing  _ 'help me!’ _ "You're in a place where you can be vulnerable," He tried to comfort the prince.

"N- no I-" Roman breathed heavily.

"Virgil /isn't/ right, you're okay," Janus interrupted.

"Let's move to a couch, come on bud, deep breaths," Virgil turned the embrace into a half hug and led Roman into the living room. "You're okay, it's okay," he said softly.

Roman tried to take a deep breath but his breathing only quickened.

"I'm /not/ going to see if I can find help," Janus announced.

"Go ahead," Virgil said absentmindedly. "Hey hey hey, come on," Virgil had Roman sit down. "You're okay," He took Roman's hand. "Can you tell me five things you can see?" he asked.

"Y- you," Roman stammered. "Light... couch- f-floor, pillow-"

"Good, good," Virgil pulled Roman into another hug and stroked his hair. "Four things you can touch?"

"C-couch- you, p-pants," Roman paused "l-don't-"

"It’s okay. What are three things you can hear?" the emo questioned.

"My heartbeat..? You, and me," Roman muttered. He tried again to take a deep breath and this time was able to.

"Two things you can smell," Virgil smiled as Roman's breathing slowed a bit.

"You- the pancakes," Roman said quietly.

"And one thing you can taste," Virgil finished.

"My tea," Roman whispered. 

"There you go. Now, what triggered this? Was it the argument?" Virgil asked carefully. 

"I- I think so," Roman mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. It's not anyone's fault, we didn't know that would have that effect on you," Virgil continued to stroke his fluffy hair. "Are you good to eat now?"

Roman nodded. "I can usually handle little arguments like that one, I don't know why I couldn't with this one-" he rambled.

"It's okay, Roman. If anyone knows what it's like to have panic attacks about little things, it's me," Virgil pulled out of the embrace gently. "Now Patton is probably freaking out, so we should go back to the dining room if that's okay," he suggested.

"Yeah. Okay," Roman stood. His legs wobbled a bit but he steadied himself.

Virgil kept an arm underneath Roman's, keeping him steady even after the first seconds when he knew it was necessary.

"I got-oh. You seem to /not/ be alright now," Janus walked in, Logan following him.

"Are you.." Logan seemed to think. "Good fam?" He was hesitant, he didn't have his flashcards on him currently.

Roman laughed slightly. "Yeah. I think so," he muttered.

"That is fortunate. Patton is very-" Logan was cut off.

Patton ran into the living room. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Roman simply nodded this time.

Virgil smiled and put his arm back from around Roman's back. "Let's eat, shall we?"

Roman nodded and they all went back to the dining room.

"Oh good, the bacon is still hot," Virgil grabbed two pieces with his hands and then stabbed a pancake with his fork.

"So, Janus, what was the verdict upon Virgil and Roman statements?" Logan said while taking two pancakes.

Janus looked to Logan. "They /weren't/ telling the truth," he said confidently.

Logan looked up with a quirked eyebrow. "You're certain about this?" He asked.

Janus nodded.

"Hmm," Logan readjusted his glasses. "Well, I suppose an apology is in order for my assumptions last night," He didn't say anything after that and just continued eating.

"Sorry for waking you, Logan," Roman apologized.

"I suppose I can forgive you, Roman. You as well, Virgil," Logan hummed and went back to his food.

"Um, thanks, I guess," Virgil said, biting into his bacon.

Roman finished his food quickly and sighed. "I'm going to go to The Imagination if anyone needs me," he said, standing up and leaving the kitchen.

"Bye, Princey," Virgil almost said 'be careful, but he saw Janus sending him a look again and just shoved a bite of pancake in his mouth.

Patton was still worried about the Prince. "Virgil, kiddo, when you finish your breakfast will you do me a favor and check on Roman?" He asked.

"Um," Virgil didn't want to go in case Roman was doing a session with Emile, but he couldn't tell them that because he knew Roman wouldn't be comfortable with it. "Uh, sure," He lied. 'Please don't call me out, Janus, you know I don't lie without good reason,'

Janus ignored the lie. He knew that Virgil probably had some sort of reason for it.

"Thanks, kiddo," Patton smiled.

"No problem, Pat." Virgil now had to deliberate where to sink out to when he finished breakfast. He could sink out to his room- no. No, not there. Roman's room? He certainly didn't need to get caught in there again. He perked up. He could visit Remy! He finished breakfast and sunk out into Remy’s living room.

Remy turned to see Virgil. "Oh hey! Long time, no see," he exclaimed.

"Hey Rem," Virgil smiled into his thermos. "How's life?"

"A bitch, but what's new? And how are you?" Remy asked. "Oh my god that rhymed" he realized.

Virgil laughed. "I'll call you Roman. And I've been alright, Rem. Any cute guys you met outside?" he asked.

"Gurl, you know it!" Remy started to rant about a guy he met at the coffee shop he works at.

"Hold on, hold on," Virgil smiled. "He goes to what college?"

"Summerville University," Remy replied.

"Shit, man. That's hot," Virgil said.

"I know! And-" He continued to mention random little things.

"It sounds like you're really into him. Think he's gay?" Virgil asked.

"Oh, I know it. He's got his laptop covered in stickers and stuff. I also stalked his Instagram, and he's definitely gay," Remy smiled. "But anygays, how about you? How's it going with Roman?" Remy asked knowingly.

Virgil turned red. There was honestly no point, and Remy usually didn't gossip to any of the other sides anyway. "We uh... We might have kissed," he confessed.

"Gurl, what? Spill!" Remy exclaimed.

Virgil would be lying if he didn't say it was nice to vent. "So we were watching Nightmare before Christmas together, and we both fell asleep on the couch. He was half asleep and wouldn't let me go to bed, it was adorable," Virgil smiled.

"Oh my god," Remy whispered.

"And he woke up because I had a nightmare and I uh... my shirt got ruined. He offered to let me use one of his, so I said yes because the nightmare was about my room so I didn't want to go in there and get one of mine. So he got me a shirt and then I went to get makeup wipes from his dresser and Logan saw me come out!" Virgil exclaimed.

Remy gasped, motioning for Virgil to continue.

"So he asks me why I'm in Roman's room, wearing Roman's shirt, and we basically have to push through a bunch of hasty lies in order for him to leave us alone. So I go down to the bathroom, and I'm freaking out a little bit and I take off my makeup and he's like wait, Virgil, you have freckles?" Virgil rambled.

"Holdup. Bitch, what?" Remy asked.

"He-oh, yeah," Virgil blanched. "I forgot I never told you."

"You have-? You know what? Nevermind. Continue," Remy said.

"Right, thanks. So basically he calls me cute, and I start to freak out and he starts to apologize, and then he goes..." Virgil didn't know if Roman would be alright with Remy telling that, but he kept going a little hesitantly. Remy was cool. "He says 'now that I know your secret, it's only fair you know one of mine' and then he covers my eyes and goes away and then comes back and when I open my eyes he... Oh my god, Remy, he was wearing glasses," he sighed.

"Glasses? Really?" Remy asked.

"It was the cutest shit, yes, really," Virgil was turning red all over again. "So I kind of stopped working because shit, that's adorable, and he starts to say something about him looking bad, and I started to work again and I told him to shut up and I kissed him."

"Holy shit," Remy gaped.

"Yeah! And he kissed me back! And I told him not to say that, and then we kissed again!" Virgil was grinning like a lunatic.

"Gurl-" Remy started.

"Remy! Remy, there you are, have you seen-" Emile sank into the room with them. He spotted Virgil and exhaled in relief. "Virgil! I was looking for you, do you know where Roman is?" he asked worriedly.

Virgil's smile vanished. "What? thought he was with you in the Imagination!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I can't find him!" Emile said.

Remy's eyes widened. "Then let's go look for him!" he exclaimed.

"Right, I'm sorry to bother you, Remy. Virgil, can you sink us back in? I'm getting lightheaded," Emile asked.

"Yeah- yeah, sure," Virgil's breathing was beginning to speed up but he helped Emile sink into the Imagination.

A second later, Remy popped up as well. "Let me help. You could use an extra set of hands and eyes," he suggested.

"Oh! Alrighty then, the only problem is, uh-" Emile was cut off.

"Woah." Virgil took in the massive forest around them. 

"Yeah," Emile finished. "The imagination is kinda... huge."

"So do we split up or stick together?" Remy asked.

Emile looked at Virgil. "I can go on my own, how bout you go with Virge here," he muttered.

"Alright," Remy said. He looked to Virgil. "Let's go."

"Yeah, yeah,” Virgil took off in a direction, not waiting for Remy to follow. After a couple of minutes of just forest, his breathing started to get dangerously fast.

"Whoa. Hey, Virgil, it's okay," Remy tried to assure him.

"Why is there so much forest?" Virgil stopped walking and began to pant. "Where the hell could he have gone? What if it's the Dragon Witch or-or-" he started ranting.

"Virgil, you need to breathe. We won't be able to find your prince if you're panicking," Remy said softly. "He'll be alright."

"Or the Demigorgon or a Hydra or-or-" Virgil sat down and his eyes widened. "Or fucking  _ Remus _ , he could be dying," he said.

"Fuck. Virgil, you need to break out of your little mind cage. Virgil, look at me. Breathe," Remy said carefully.

"I-I-" Virgil’s eyes managed to focus on Remy. "I-I don't think I can keep going. Just go look for him, I need a minute," he was doing his best to slow his breathing but his worry for Roman just kept mounting.

"Alright. Remember to breathe. I'm gonna go find your boyfriend," Remy said quickly.

"Okay," he curled his arms around his legs and rested his head on his knees. "Okay."

Remy turned and continued to walk through the seemingly never-ending forest. "Roman!" He called out.

He continued to quickly walk across the forest floor, calling out for Roman.

"Roman! Ro- oh my god I found him," Remy said to himself. He saw Roman lying near the base of a tree. He ran up to him. "No injuries. He's just asleep," Remy said.

Remy started to shout for the other two. "Virgil! Emile! I found him!" He shouted even though he didn't know if anyone would hear him.

He grabbed his phone and rung up Emile's number.

"Remy! Is Virgil okay?" Emile asked worriedly.

"I don't know. He started panicking and asked me to leave him behind. But I found Roman!" Remy said.

"Oh, good! I'm coming, stay on the phone. Should we wake him up? You're Sleep, can you tell if he needs it?" Emile questioned.

"Yeah. He needs it," Remy claimed. "From what I can tell he hasn't slept properly in probably weeks."

“Oh, dear. Well, leave him alone, then. Go get Virgil. Hey, wow, Roman even made this place with good cell reception, he works so hard,” Emile muttered.

“How will you find Roman?” Remy asked. “I’m not even a hundred percent sure where I am.”

“I just turned all the way around and I’m kind of hoping I’m going in the right direction. If I get too lost I’ll sink out, there seems to be a general starting position when you come in. And be sure to make a clear path from Roman to Virgil, we don’t want to lose him again,” Emile said.

“Alright,” Remy started on his way back to Virgil, clearing things out his way making some sort of trail.

Virgil heard something moving towards him about ten minutes after Remy had left. He froze and moved to hide behind a tree.

“Virgil! Come on! I found your prince!” Remy exclaimed.

“Remy! You did?” Virgil almost tripped over himself rushing over to Remy. “Is he okay? Did he get hurt?” he asked hurriedly.

“Calm down, lover boy,” Remy smirked. “He’s just asleep. He needs it, too,” he proclaimed.

“Oh. Oh! Okay,” Virgil calmed exponentially. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Your boyfriend does  _ not _ get proper sleep,” Remy said casually.

“He- what?” Virgil scowled. “How so?” he asked.

“He hasn’t gotten a decent amount of sleep in _at_ _least_ a few weeks,” Remy said.

Virgil was silent. Then after a few moments, he said, “When he wakes up I’m gonna whoop his ass. He told me he was getting better about that.”

“He probably only lied because he didn’t want you to worry,” Remy said. “You’re pretty good at that.”

Virgil sighed. “Yeah. I just- he blames himself for everything, and always puts everyone else first. He would rather get hurt than bother someone, and one day he is going to get hurt,” ‘ _ He already has _ ,’ Virgil thought.

“That’s not good. Is- and I don’t mean to intrude- but is that why Em was looking for him? He had… like an appointment or something?” Remy asked softly.

“I- Yeah. I’m glad he decided to try it out, but he’s… not good at asking for help,” Virgil expressed his concerns.

“Well I don’t know much about this- but I don’t think he would’ve reached out if it weren’t for you,” Remy said.

Virgil groaned. “That’s the thing.  _ I’m _ the healthy one in this relationship. That’s a really low bar, and he just crawled under it,” he muttered.

Remy nodded. “Let’s not focus on that right now. Let’s get back to Roman, alright?” He asked.

"Yeah." Virgil went in the direction he thought Remy came from. "This way, right?"

Remy shook his head, turning to the path he had created. "Down that way," he said.

"Oh. This place is a maze."

"We'll have to thank Emile for telling me to mark a path,"

"He would be the one to think of that."

"He's smart. And he can keep his cool in tough situations," Remy added. 

Virgil raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything about it. "Yeah."

"Let's go get your boyfriend," Remy said. 

"He's not my boyfriend," Virgil muttered.

"Yet," Remy smirked. 

"Remy, I swear I- what the hell was that?" Virgil asked, senses more alert.

"I-" Remy started.

There was a snap of twigs and Emile emerged from the trees behind them. "Oh, there you are you two. Are you all right, Virgil?"

Virgil shuddered and relaxed a bit. "Yeah, you just freaked me out a little."

"Come on," Remy said.

"How deeply asleep was Roman when you found him?" Emile asked. "Can you tell how long he's been unconscious?"

"I didn't think to do that. Sorry, Em," Remy said.

Emile smiled worriedly. "It's alright. We can try when we get there. Do you remember how far away it was?" He asked.

"Like four? Five? Minutes, I think," Remy estimated.

Virgil sped up. He trusted Remy’s judgment, but he needed to see Roman was okay with his own eyes.

Upon noticing that Virgil had started to go faster, Remy smirked at his urgency and tried to catch up. Emile gave a little yelp of surprise and sped up a bit, nearly tripping several times. He saw Remy look back. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up,” He almost landed on his face but steadied himself on a nearby tree. “Eventually.”

“Be careful, Em!” Remy shouted over his shoulder.

“I will!” Emile assured.

Virgil didn’t look behind him or slow down. Remy chuckled. “We’re almost-” he started.

Anxiety proceeded to trip over Roman’s outstretched leg and hit the forest floor hard. “Fffuck,” He kept his voice quiet, but it was difficult with the dirt stinging in his scraped palms and irritated burn.

Remy tried not to laugh. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” He stood up and hissed when the stinging intensified. “I was just…” He spotted Roman, who had stirred but not woken, and relaxed. “He looks… peaceful.”

“You are absolutely smitten,” Remy smirked. “Adorable.”

“Bitch,” Virgil lowered himself to the ground a couple of feet away from Roman. “You’re not wrong,” He shook his hands, attempting to get the dirt off.

“It’s a good thing your boyfriend isn’t a light sleeper, otherwise you would have woken him up,” Remy stated,

The Emo chuckled sheepishly. “I was worried. I’ve heard too many stories about stupid shit that Ro did here not to worry,” he admitted.

“Like what?” Remy asked.

“Oh, the time he was fighting a Hydra and tried to copy Hercules, you know, burning their necks closed? He just ended up with torn clothes and half the valley on fire. Then the time he was looking for something in a cave and woke up a family of Cyclops. The time he was treasure hunting and got the attention of the lake monster,” He looked at Remy’s raised eyebrows. “I can go on.”

“What- please do, now I’m concerned and curious,” Remy said.

“He almost flooded the river because he got on the bad side of a Rain Sprite, he almost got possessed by a demon disguised as a fae,” He listed. “He almost set a couple of villages on fire, he  _ did _ set some farms on fire, he got run over by a horse, he got caught in a stampede, which chased him into a tree which he fell out of,” He winced. “He fell off the waterfall into the lagoon, he fell into the lake, he almost fell in the gorge,” Virgil sighed. “It’s a very long list. He can’t help but help people, even if they’re NPC’s, most of those were because of Quests from the people he made in his mind.”

Remy blinked and shook his head. “How is he still breathing?” he asked incredulously.

“Most wounds you get in the Imagination aren’t very dangerous, as long as you leave quickly. Plus, Patton and the Castle’s Cleric are miracle workers,” Virgil replied.

“I see…” Remy muttered.

“Yeah,” Virgil sighed again and gave the sleeping Prince a hard look. “And those are just the times he asked for help or the times where his injuries were obvious. I worry more about the times he doesn't talk about,” He moved over painfully and sat next to Roman to drag his fingers through his hair.

Remy stayed silent for a moment before humming. “You care a lot about him, don’t ya?”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Virgil smirked, but it didn’t last. “I think it’s because I’m so paranoid, I notice more things. I notice the things he doesn’t say, and the others don’t, so they care… less. Or they take care less,” He put both hands in his lap, the hand that was playing with Roman’s hair twitching slightly. “I don’t know if that makes sense.”

"Nothing makes sense, tbh," Remy sighed. 

"Heh, yeah," Virgil muttered. 

Emile came crashing through the greenery, panting. "Oh, there you- are-" He gasped through harsh breaths. "I should have brought- my inhaler."

"Are you okay, Emmy?" Remy asked worriedly.

"Yeah," he breathed, half collapsing to the ground next to Remy, "I'm just not- exactly an athlete," He gave a wheezy chuckle. 

Remy laughed lightly. "Not hard to see," he said.

Virgil smiled at the two. "Sorry for speeding up, I was worried. How've you been, Emile?" He asked.

Emile took another moment to catch his breath. "I've been doing well, thank you. I've been working with a new family. I was on break, and I've been meaning to go and visit you, Remy. You got a job at that Coffee Shop, right?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah! It's fantastic," Remy exclaimed.

"What's the name? I'm excited to come and see you in action," Emile said.

"It's called Patrick's Coffee and Pastries. It isn't very well known, but it's got good coffee," Remy said

"Fun. It must be good if you like it, Rem," Emile smiled. "Do you-"

"Shh!" Virgil froze. "Do you guys feel that?" For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a rumble that shook the ground, getting closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, a cliffhanger! Not very intense one, but I think you'll enjoy the next chapter.  
> Sorry I took so long to update! We had school stuff to deal with.


	5. I Am Damaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Concussions can be... dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter and all that it entails.
> 
> TW: Burns, fire, blood, concussions, Virgil being a badass

"Shh!" Virgil froze. "Do you guys feel that?" For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a rumble that shook the ground, getting closer.

"What the-?" Remy started.

"Quiet!" Virgil hissed, white a sheet. He was too well versed in the creatures that lived in the Imagination to be anything but paranoid about what could be approaching them.

He guiltily turned to Roman and shook him gently but frantically. "Roman!" He whispered harshly.

"Hm- what?" Roman mumbled

"Wake up!" Virgil stopped shaking him. "Something's here!"

Roman's eyes widened. "Shit-!" He quickly got up looking around.

Emile stood up and pulled Remy up as well. "What do you think it is?" He whispered so only Remy would hear, pressing himself against the nearest tree. Virgil saw what he did and pulled Roman under the cover of the foliage. The rumbling had gotten closer.

"No clue, but it isn't good," Remy muttered under his breath.

"What is it?" Virgil hissed, having not let go of Roman. He held on to his arm, trembling a little as his brain went into overdrive.

"Dragon," Roman responded quickly. "We have to get out of here."

"Oh, no," Virgil breathed, hanging on a little harder to Roman's arm. He signaled at the others to stay quiet and Emile nodded. The rumbling was so close it was making it hard to keep his balance. "It's too close to run, Ro. We have to hope it won't hear us." He whispered.

"Alright. Vee, I  _ really _ need you to try to stay calm, okay?" Roman said frantically.

"Right, no heavy breathing. I can do that. I'll-" Virgil stopped when Roman put a hand over his mouth. The rumbling had stopped. He looked up.

The tall, scaly dragon stood less than a hundred feet away. The scales were speckled with yellows and oranges. The Dragon had large, dark green eyes, and even with its mouth closed, sharp teeth were visible.

Virgil tried to steady his breathing, gripping Roman like a lifeline. Emile stifled a gasp as the dragon raised its snout to the air and sniffed with a sound like bellows. There was a low growl as he moved towards them, shaking the ground with every step.

Roman silently cursed. 'Not again,' he thought to himself.

Emile reached out and grabbed Remy's hand for reassurance, both his and Sleep's. He gave it a gentle squeeze, and Remy glanced at him. His eyes were filled with fear and worry, but he tried to send a reassuring look to the other.

The dragon was almost above them when it stopped, and they all held their breaths. Its head swayed back and forth, nostrils flaring.

Remy closed his eyes, unable to watch what was happening before him.

Then, still a bit out of breath from running to Roman, Emile let out an involuntary cough.

The dragon's gaze shot down to where the four of them stood.

Virgil flinched and his eyes widened when the dragon's cold eyes met Emile's.

"Shit!" Roman whispered.

The dragon roared, and Emile was frozen in place as he met the beast's eye, and watched as its throat started to glow.

"Emile!" Virgil yelled.

"Dammit, RUN!" Roman shouted.

Virgil shouted Emile's name again as he moved towards the terrified man.

"Remy, Virgil, run! I've got Emile, don't worry about him! Just  _ run _ !" Roman yelled.

Virgil hesitated but took off. "Cmon, Remy!" He looked behind him for the man.

Emile screamed as the dragon stepped closer, the movement in the ground flinging him backward.

Remy stepped in, grabbing Emile's shoulders and pulling him into his embrace.

The dragon's nostrils began to smoke. It reared onto its hind legs and roared again.

"Dammit!" Roman exclaimed. "Move it, NOW!"

Emile looked at the dragon's open mouth and shoved Remy in the direction away from the dragon, following him closely.

"C'mon hurry!" Roman shouted frantically.

Emile glanced at the beast and frantically gave Remy a good hard shove, and the dragon fired.

Virgil would remember the scream he heard for the rest of his life, the light of the dragon's liquid flame illuminating his pale face.

"Shit," Roman muttered. He ran the other way, grabbing a large rock and threw it at the Dragon.

"Emile!" Virgil screamed. He ran over to the place where Remy was grappling for the man, feeling his fangs start to crawl over his lower lip. "Oh my god, Emile! Is he okay?!" He helped to drag Emile away from the fire.

"I don't know-" Remy started.

"Get the hell out of here!" Roman yelled.

"I'm not fucking leaving you here to die!" Virgil shouted over the flames. He checked Emile's pulse. "He's just passed out, for now. Take him and- look out!" The dragon attempted to step on them, but Virgil pulled them all out of the way in time.

"I've dealt with this asshole by myself before, Vee, I'll be fine. But I can't have any of you getting any more hurt!" Roman exclaimed.

Virgil growled a hissing undertone underneath it that made Remy shiver. "I keep telling you, Roman, you've been alone before, but that doesn't mean you are now." He took off his shirt and jacket and handed them to Remy. "Go. Any direction you can; sink out when you have the energy to. Take these with you and leave fast, this forest is perfect kindling."

"What do you plan to do?" Remy exclaimed.

For the first time in years, Virgil purposely let his legs and eyes out, blinking in the harsh sunlight and bright flames. He turned to the dragon. "I'm going to help my fucking boyfriend, aren't I?"

"Holy sh-" Remy's eyes widened.

"Go, Remy!" Virgil climbed up the nearest tree faster than any jungle cat, getting to a higher vantage quickly. He thanked himself for the premonition not to ruin another shirt.

Remy nodded, but as he was running off, he shouted, "We have a  _ lot _ to talk about!"

Virgil laughed, a nearly feral hissing sound that caught the attention of the dragon, drawing it away from Roman.

Roman sighed. "Why can't you let me fight monsters and get hurt and patch myself up in peace?" He muttered under his breath.

The dragon looked surprised when he saw Virgil. It didn't look like a demon, but it certainly sounded like one. Virgil smiled at it, baring his fangs. "Hey, you. You set my friend on fire." He jumped from the tree and nimbly landed on the dragon's neck.

Roman tried not to laugh. He summoned a sword, just in case things went south, which they most likely would.

Virgil scrambled up the beast's head and nearly fell off when the dragon started to buck. "Hey Ro! How the hell do you kill this thing?!" He yelled over the flames and roars of the dragon.

"You don't, really! It always comes back; uh- it resets, for lack of better words! But like any other dragon, I suppose!" Roman replied.

"And how the hell do you kill- aagh!" Virgil was once again nearly thrown off, but had an idea and stabbed his leg into one of the dragon's eyes.

The dragon bellowed and thrashed harder than ever.

"Uh, that works. Kinda," Roman mumbled. "Weak spots!" He shouted. There's one under its chin! That's how I defeated it last time!"

"Does he- aw, fuck-" He finally lost his grip and flew past Roman, landing in an almost like a tumbleweed, rolling across the smoldering forest floor surrounded by his legs.

"Yeah, okay. Stay back, I got this. Just stay safe," Roman shouted.

Roman quickly found his own way up a tree level with the weak spot on the dragon's neck.

The dragon proceeded to knock over the tree with his tail, along with several others. Roman fell along with them and got more than a few cuts and scrapes.

Virgil got up and sent a look his way. "Yeah, I was going to ask if he learns, but I guess that answers my question. You good?" he asked.

"Gah!" Roman let out a line of curse words. "I'm fine!" He winced before muttering to himself, "Yeah that was my wrist,"

Virgil opened his mouth to scold him but had to dodge another stomp from the dragon. It was being more reckless not that he had taken out one of its eyes. He didn't think he would be able to get up there again, much less stay on. "Shit. Where are the other weak spots?"

"Uhh... lower stomach...center back?" Roman stood again, wincing as even the subtle movement hurt his wrist.

Virgil smirked, then cackled. "Oh, I can work with this. Stay there, Princey!" He stood his ground, and the dragon went for another stomp.

“Careful!” Roman shouted almost helplessly.

Virgil leaped onto the dragon’s leg, crawling around on its underside, The dragon wriggled and spat fire again, running towards Roman. Virgil was clinging to its underbelly, and he held out his hands when the dragon went above the prince.

Roman hesitantly took Virgil’s hands, holding back a shout of pain as he was lifted from the ground. ‘If my wrist wasn’t broken then, it probably is now,’ he thought to himself.

Virgil realized his mistake and pulled Roman up to hold him by the waist. He yelled, but it could only barely be heard over the dragon’s grunts and growls. 

All Roman heard was ‘Sword,’. He was confused for a moment. The fall had seemingly scrambled his brain. He resummoned his sword and carefully tried to find the weak spot.

Virgil helped him maneuver, knowing it wouldn't be easy for Roman with a broken wrist, and at the very least, a mild concussion. He moved Roman to the spot that looked the least protected. “Now hold on, I’ll have to get us off of here fast! Ready?” He asked.

Roman nodded. “Let’s slay this bitch,” he said.

“Now!” Virgil lifted Roman higher, aiding in the thrust.

Roman was able to get the sword in the exact right place, stabbing the dragon. 

The dragon's roar was more of a scream, and as soon as Virgil felt the dragon start to stumble, he let go and rolled like a tumbleweed to the ground. They bounced quite a few times, and Virgil got a gash on his forehead and arm, but eventually, they came to a stop, with Roman landing on top of Virgil.

"Hey, there, how's it going?" Roman asked, wincing.

Virgil let loose an adrenaline crazed laugh, getting up onto his elbows and wiping the blood from his forehead. "It's going great, Princey," He smiled, and let his legs retract. "I mean, the forest is on fire and you have a concussion and a broken wrist, and I'm bleeding, and Emile's burned badly, but yeah. It's going great."

"Right. We should probably get outta here, though," Roman muttered.

"Yeah,” Virgil helped Roman stand up, avoiding touching his wrist. "I haven't done that in years," he claimed.

"Well- I gotta say- you looked really fucking badass doing it," Roman smirked.

Virgil smiled and pushed his sweaty hair out of his face. "Thanks, Ro," He froze. "Oh goddammit, the fire!"

"It'll be fine. The Imagination resets, like I already told you," Roman said.

"Yeah, but Remy and Emile!" Virgil exclaimed.

"They left!" Roman said.

"Oh. Right," Virgil turned a little red. "Well, in that case-" He grabbed Roman by the shoulders. "Why the fuck were you all the way over here?! We all panicked and looked all over for you! Do you have any idea how big this fucking forest is?!"

"Maybe- do you think we could get out of here- then you can yell at me?" Roman suggested.

Virgil sighed and wiped more blood from his eyes. "Yes. I do think that. But I swear to god, I had a fucking panic attack, please don't ever disappear like that again," he pleaded.

Roman nodded. A few seconds passed. "I- I'm sorry, I can't sink us out right now," Roman muttered.

"Right. That's probably for the best. We'll go to your room," Virgil sank into Roman's room, seeing Remy trying to patch up Emile on the bed. "Oh, thank god, you guys made it out fi-"

"Shut up! He's not awake yet and we shouldn't wake him," Remy exclaimed quietly.

"I don't think he's gonna wake up anytime soon, Rem," Virgil dragged Roman over to the bed to get patched up. "Can't you tell? That's not a light sleep," he said.

"I know, I just- I'm worried," Remy muttered.

"Well, I think you got out of the Imagination fast enough that it's not as bad as it could have been. I'm just glad he pushed you out of the way, you both could have gotten burned," Virgil said.

"I wish it wasn't him, though. He's just so important, even in the real world. He's a therapist, for God's sake. I just work at a coffee shop," Remy mumbled

Virgil sent Roman a look. "Yeah. Can you go get more bandages? You're the only one that isn't bloody, concussed, or unconscious. And Patton would flip his shit if he saw us like this," Virgil asked.

Remy nodded. "Yeah, I'll go," he stood up, leaving the room, too tired to sink out.

Virgil smirked. "Please tell me you see it. You're the fanciful side, you must see it," Virgil insisted.

"His very obvious crush on Picani? Yeah, I see it," Roman smirked.

"Oh thank god," Virgil rolled up Roman's sleeve. "They would be really cute, don't you think?" he questioned.

"It would," Roman smiled. "Okay,  _ now _ you can yell at me," he muttered.

Virgil didn't stop helping Roman. "You were fucking asleep! I'm glad you were sleeping, you haven't gotten hardly any recently, but why the hell were you doing it over there?! And did you have to pick that time?! Couldn't you have told Emile you were going to change schedules and then pass out?! Preferably where other people are so I don't have a fucking panic attack about not knowing if you were hurt or being a dumbass about your stupid monsters in the imagination and then not getting help like usual?!"

Roman sighed. "I'm sorry. To be truly honest, I wasn't planning on falling asleep. I was just trying to wait for Picani 'cause I can tell when people show up and leave but I guess I just-" he was cut off.

"But why over there? Why not where you initially sink in?" Virgil's adrenaline rush was slowly sinking away, and his energy to yell was depleting with it.

"I- don't know," Roman responded softly. "I'm sorry."

Virgil rubbed his face. "It's ok, Princey. I was just- worried," he admitted.

"I- really don't mean to make you worry," Roman mumbled.

Virgil smiled softly. "I'm Anxiety, Roman. I'm going to worry no matter what. That's literally my job," he said.

"I'm sorry. I- I just make it worse," Roman whispered.

"No, Roman," Virgil pushed the Prince's hair out of his face. "You don't make anything worse. I worry because I care, so don't tell me not to care."

"But- I- I just-" Roman started.

"Shh," Virgil sighed as he inspected Roman's wrist more thoroughly. "It's ok. It's all ok," he assured.

Roman tried to keep himself from wincing.

"Sorry," Virgil muttered. He left it alone. "I'll have to make a splint for that, but first I'll need to set it. It'll hurt, so I'll wait until we have some painkillers and an actual splint. Do you have a flashlight?" he asked.

"Flashlight?" Roman asked. "Why?"

"I need to check your eyes, see how bad your concussion is," Virgil clarified.

"Oh. Also, I know that it'll hurt. I've set my own bones before," Roman claimed.

"You've-" Virgil sighed at the ceiling. "Of course you have. Why wouldn't you set your own bones instead of asking for help?" he asked incredulously.

Remy walked in, slowly closing the door behind himself. "What did I just overhear?" he asked.

"You tell me, Remy!" Virgil went over to Roman's desk, glancing over it before seeing a flashlight. "What did you just overhear?" He clicked it. "Godammit, this is out of batteries. Do you have another one?" he asked.

Roman tried to summon a flashlight. "I- I can't- my head... hurts," he winced.

"Something about setting broken bones?" Remy exclaimed.

"Oh, shit, no, I didn't mean to summon one!" Virgil went back over. "Yes, you heard that, please go get some batteries, and probably some ice," He made Roman lie down next to Emile. "Dammit Roman, I told you you had a concussion, don't try to summon things!" He exclaimed worriedly.

"Oh," Roman muttered.

Remy nodded. He left again, softly shutting the door once more.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Virgil wrung his hands, with nothing to do. "Try not to fall asleep, there's a chance you call into a coma if you fall asleep with a heavy concussion, I don't even want to think about that, so try to keep your eyes open, and for fucks sake don't summon anything!" he said, starting to panic.

"I- I know how a concussion works, Vee. I'm trying," Roman mumbled.

"I know, I know, just- fucking, fuck. I'm not good at this. I'm not good at fixing things, I'm not good at staying fucking calm!" Virgil was pulling at his hair.

"Breathe. Please, Vee. Br- breathe," Roman begged.

"I'm- I don't know," He tried to calm himself down because he could tell it was making Roman freak out as well. "It's just- I had to fall for a goddamn hero, didn't I?" He murmured so no one else could hear, putting his face in his hands.

Remy entered again, this time with an ice pack and some batteries.

Roman struggled to keep his eyes open, but his focus was mainly on Virgil. "Help him," he said. "He- he's panicking, and I- I can't help him right now," he said worriedly.

"No, Don't- give me the batteries, I don't- It's not bad. Not so bad that I can't help Roman," Virgil insisted.

Remy looked from Roman to Virgil and back to Roman. "Are you sure?" Remy asked the anxious side.

"Yes!" Virgil exclaimed.

"Alright, alright," Remy handed the batteries to Virgil.

Virgil fumbled with the batteries but managed to get them into the flashlight. "Can you sit up, Ro?" He calmed his breathing a bit.

Roman slowly tried to sit up, falling back down almost immediately.

"Ok, we'll just do this down here then," Virgil shone his flashlight in Roman's eye. "Stop looking away!"

"It hurts, I'm sorry," Roman mumbled.

"It's okay, just try your best," Virgil said softly. He told Remy to start bandaging Emile. When he was sure he got the best he could out of Roman, he switched to the other eye and sighed in relief. "It's not good, not at all. But there was some dilation, so I'll count that as a win," he mumbled.

Roman giggled. "Your eyes are pretty, VeeVee," he said.

Virgil blushed. "Oh, god," he muttered.

Roman tilted his head like a puppy. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Virgil rubbed his face again. "You're delirious," he claimed.

"Hm?" Roman muttered, his eyes slowly falling closed.

"No, no no no no! Remy, do something!" Virgil exclaimed.

Remy scrambled in front of Roman, snapping in his face. "C'mon, you gotta stay awake. You gotta keep those eyes open," he said frantically.

Roman was pulled out of the daze. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's ok, just stay awake. I think I had a heart attack," Virgil took the bandages and started to wrap himself up.

"D'you need any help?" Remy asked.

"Uh, yeah. If you could you could do my head when I'm done with my arm?" Virgil replied.

"Yeah, I can do that," Remy nodded.

Roman tried to sit up again.

"No, Roman," Virgil pushed him down gently. "You need to stay lying down, your head isn't-"

"I  _ want _ to sit up. Please?" Roman asked.

Virgil sighed and grabbed a pillow. "Just, lean on the pillow, ok?"

Roman nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "Vee?" Roman asked.

Virgil placed the pillow against the bedstead and sat still for Remy to bandage his head. He had to tie his hair back with a rubber band.

"Yeah, Roman?" Virgil replied.

"When you're done, can I..." Roman trailed off.

"Yes?" Virgil asked.

"...Nevermind," Roman muttered.

"It's ok, Ro- ngh." Virgil winced as Remy pulled his hair a bit. Remy quietly apologized. "You can ask me if you want," Virgil said comfortingly.

"I- it's stupid," Roman mumbled.

"Alright, then," Virgil felt the bandages with his hand and sighed. "I'll have to borrow another one of your shirts, Ro. That's okay, right?"

"Mhm..." Roman muttered.

Virgil went over to the dresser and grabbed a dark pajama shirt, pulling it over his head with a wince as it tugged on the bandages on his arms. He came back over and sat down on the bed. "Are you good, Remy? Don't need anything?" he asked.

"I'm good. Nothing but a few bruises," Remy said.

"That's go-" Virgil started.

Emile gave a groan and tried to roll over on the bed, but flinched and opened his eyes. "Wh-what happened?" He murmured.

"Em! You're okay, thank God!" Remy exclaimed.

Roman flinched slightly at the raised tone.

Emile shifted a little and smiled weakly. "Of course I am, Rem. Everything is sore and my leg and arm feel like sandpaper, but I'm fine," he said.

"Remy, I know you're excited, but quiet down a bit," Virgil scolded. "Roman has a concussion, remember?" he reminded.

"Roman has a what?!" Emile said softly. He turned. "Oh my god, are you two okay?" he asked.

Roman nodded with a slightly pained look in his face.

"It's good that you feel okay. That means I programmed The Imagination right. Sadly, the healing stuff doesn't work on me for some stupid reason," Roman muttered. He knew why it didn’t work. Remus had broken it, saying something about, ‘Lengthening his pain to the fullest,’ or something like that.

Virgil sighed hard and let his head fall to the mattress. "Remy, can you get a couple of cups of water? I'm sorry you have to get everything, but you're the only one who doesn't look like they came out of a horror story," he requested.

Remy nodded. "It's fine," he said.

"How do you plan to fix my wrist?" Roman asked quietly.

Virgil sighed. "You probably know more about it than I do, but I refuse to let you do it, so I'll just have to take whatever advice you give me and hopefully the painkillers will work," Virgil muttered, playing with the hem of Roman's pajama shirt.

"Hm? Oh, you can't use painkillers," Roman muttered.

"Wait, what?" Virgil sat up again. "Why not?"

“It can mask the symptoms of the concussion and in some cases, make it worse,” Roman explained.

"That's true," Emile added. "Something about the swelling not reacting well to the chemicals in the meds," he said.

Roman nodded.

"What happened to your wrist, anyway? What happened after I passed out?" Emile asked. 

"I'm not... a hundred percent sure...?" Roman mumbled.

"Princey and I beat up the dragon," Virgil said with satisfaction. "And we only got a little singed. And two gashes. And a concussion. And a broken wrist. And probably a burning forest."

"The forest is fine, it resets every time I leave unless I do a specific thing to make sure it doesn't," Roman said.

"I know. I'm not worried about the forest. I'm worried about you and Emile," Virgil explained.

"Oh," Roman whispered.

Remy walked back into the room, carrying a couple of water bottles. 'Sorry,' he mouthed.

Janus stepped in behind him, also carrying water.

Virgil swore a little under his breath. "Heeeey, Janus," he greeted.

Emile managed to sit up without damaging his leg. "Hello, Deceit. It's been a while, huh?” he asked.

Janus sighed. "Hello, Emile. Virgil, how exactly do you four plan to /not/ get around with those wounds without looking suspicious?" he questioned.

Virgil ran a hand through his hair. "For now, I'm just focusing on fixing them. The way we look is the least of our problems at the moment," he muttered.

"These three should all be okay within a span of four days," Roman said timidly.

"Roman, however, has a major concussion and a broken wrist," Virgil took the water and drank about half of it. "I don't know how long it'll take for him to get back to normal. He said his healing thing doesn’t work for him."

"The normal amount of time it takes to heal with these things," Roman responded. "Also, if you plan to set my wrist, you really do need to do it soon," he said.

"Right. Don't want it to heal incorrectly," Virgil turned to Janus. "I've only done this once, and it was a while ago. I don't know if I'm the best option. Janus, you taught me to do half this shit, do you think you could...?" he asked.

Janus nodded. "I /can't/ help with that," he said. "You have to /not/ try not to yell, it will worsen your concussion.”

Virgil stepped aside, and Emile turned away. "I wouldn't look, Remy," Virgil said.

"Yeah, okay," Remy said. He looked away.

"Virgil?" Janus asked.

"I'm fine," Virgil insisted.

"That's not what I was going to say," Janus said. "I need you to /not/ come and hold Roman's unbroken hand. Roman, when it hurts, /do/ pull away but squeeze Virgil's hand," he instructed.

"Oh, right. Sorry," He stood next to Roman and took his hand. "You ready?" he asked.

Roman shook his head. "No, but that doesn't matter. Get it over with," he said.

Janus nodded. "On three. One, two-" Janus took Roman's wrist and set it in place before saying three.

Roman let out a gasp, along with a tiny squeak. He nearly crushed Virgil's hand.

Virgil grunted but didn't move. "Now we just need a splint," he said.

Emile looked a bit unnerved, but he turned around again. "Where are you going to get one?"

Janus looked to Roman. "Do you /not/ have a wrist brace somewhere?" he asked.

Roman nodded. "I can try to-" he started to offer.

"Absolutely not!" Virgil let go of his hand. "We talked about this. You can't summon things right now! We can find it the old fashioned way," he insisted.

"We did?" Roman asked quietly.

"Oh," Virgil stopped. "Right. I'm sorry. Yeah, you tried to summon something earlier and that made your concussion worse," he explained.

"I'm sorry," Roman mumbled.

Janus sighed. "Doctor Picani, I /have/ been able to ask him myself, so did Roman really /not/ go to you yesterday?" He asked Emile quietly.

"Yes, he did," Emile had slowly maneuvered himself so he could lean against the bedstead. "We had a good chat, and I think if he continues to come, I can help him. But it's his decision entirely," he looked to Roman.

"I do want to continue to meet with you, it’s just-" Roman paused. "I- I'm not used to uh... having... help...? It- it's kind of overwhelming," he muttered.

"Well, we can space out our meetings if that helps," Emile patted the bed next to him, signaling Remy to sit down. "I have a pretty free schedule, so we can talk whenever and wherever you're comfortable."

Virgil smiled and Roman nodded. "Okay," his voice was barely audible.

"We should all get some rest," Virgil said softly. "Where do you think the brace is?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Roman replied. "Check that one drawer, the one with the- my- you know-" he muttered.

"Right," Virgil went and rummaged through the drawer. He paused and growled softly.

"What's wrong?" Roman asked.

"It's nothing," Virgil said with a deep breath. "Here's the brace," He came back over and gingerly put it on Roman's arm.

"Oh. Alright," Roman muttered tiredly. "Thank you, Vee."

"Fucking broke them," He muttered under his breath, so only Roman could hear. "I'm going to kick his ass," He took another deep breath. "You're welcome, Ro."

"He-? Of course, he did," Roman mumbled. "I- can you- um... can I- hug?" he asked quietly.

"Sure," Virgil wrapped his arms around the Prince, trying not to let him fall off the bed.

Roman laid his head on Virgil's shoulder. A hot tear rolled down his face, and he had hoped Virgil wouldn't notice.

"Hey, it's okay," Virgil reassured him. "We can use one of Logan's if we need to, he has more than enough to borrow."

Roman shook his head. "That- it doesn't work. Different- prescriptions," he mumbled.

"Do you have enough contacts?" Virgil asked.

Emile sent the other two in the room a look. ‘At least pretend you're not trying to overhear what they're saying’.

Roman nodded. "It isn't just that, though. It's that- just...  _ piled _ on top of everything else," he muttered. "I- I can't-" he started.

"I know," Virgil got onto the bed and sat between Roman and Emile. "It's a lot, isn't it?"

Roman nodded. "It's just- the crazy, I can d- I can deal with that. I- and then you- and now other people are getting hurt too, and-" he whimpered.

"It's okay, Roman," He sent harsh glares at Remy and Janus as he pulled the prince back into a hug.

"But it isn’t, I- I can't let anyone else get hurt, I-" Roman insisted.

Janus looked to Remy and signaled for the two of them to leave.

"Everyone's okay, Ro. We're all here," Virgil sent Janus a grateful look.

"I just- I can't- I can't handle that too," Roman mumbled.

Virgil could tell he was on the edge of a breakdown. He helped Roman's move his head onto his lap. "Hey, shhh," He grasped for something to distract him. "Hey, remember this morning?" he questioned.

"Hm?" Roman asked.

Emile smiled at the two and sank out. He had enough energy to get to his apartment. This seemed like a rather private moment.

"When you showed me how to make tea?" Virgil clarified.

"Oh, yeah," Roman sighed. "That was nice,"

"Yeah, it was," Virgil noticed Emile was gone and relaxed a little. "You had to get the sugar for me," he recalled.

"Yeah," Roman gave a half-smile.

"I bet Patton thought that was funny," Virgil put a hand in Roman's hair, being gentle enough not to hurt his head.

"He would, huh?" Roman asked.

"Yeah," Virgil reached for a blanket and pulled it over them, making sure to cover Roman all the way.

"He's gonna be so mad at me," Roman mumbled.

"Why?" Virgil questioned.

"He doesn't like it when we get hurt, and now four of us got hurt, and it's my fault," Roman muttered.

"Roman..." Virgil put an arm over him. "He doesn't like it, but he doesn't get mad. He just worries. He only gets mad when you talk bad about yourself. You don't have to worry about Patton being mad at you," he assured.

"Okay," the prince mumbled. "I'm sorry, Vee,"

"For what?" Virgil asked.

"I dunno. Everything, I guess," Roman mumbled.

"Well," Virgil rubbed circles in his back. "I don't think you did anything wrong, but I forgive you," he said softly.

"But earlier, you said-" Roman began to protest.

"Did I ever once say that I couldn't ever forgive you?" Virgil asked.

Roman paused. "No, I don't think so," he mumbled.

"That's because I didn't. And I won't ever. I will always forgive you, because you make mistakes just like everyone else, and you're too damn precious to ever do something that would hurt someone on purpose," Virgil said.

"Okay," Roman’s eyes turned to half-mast. "Can I sleep now?" He asked.

"Yeah. Go ahead," He knew he wasn't going to fall asleep with Roman, but he wasn't complaining.

Roman let his eyes close, soon falling asleep.

Virgil sighed, continuing to run his fingers through Roman’s soft locks. It had been a long and painful two days. He wondered how long it was really going to be.


	6. Wait, What?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idek at this point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi  
> Tea is spilled  
> Princxiety is cute  
> Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

Remy sat on the counter in the kitchen. "So, wait- okay- so Virgil is a spider?" he asked.

Janus turned on the coffee maker and sighed. "I see you /haven't/ been alerted to that. Yes, he is a spider. It's a... trait that Darksides have."

"Hm. Pretty badass," Remy hummed.

Janus chuckled. "That's /not/ what R... what Remus said when he first found out."

"What's the whole deal with Remus anygays? Virgil mentioned him in The Imagination and then something about the fact that Roman could be dead," Remy asked.

Janus clenched his fists, then released them inside his gloves. "Remus has been partaking in certain...  _ activities _ that I /wouldn't/ have stopped if I had known about them. As it is, I'm having trouble finding him and speaking to him, but when I do..." He exhaled through his nose and got out the sugar.

"Whoa, what'd he do?" Remy asked, slightly scared.

"He /hasn't/ been attacking Roman." Janus gritted his teeth but managed not to hiss.

"Attacking? I mean I've heard of sibling rivalries, but..." Remy started.

"Exactly. I understand not being particularly fond of Roman, and since it's Remus I would allow jumpscares or even small injuries as there is only so much I can ask of him, but outright violence is going a bit far." Janus sighed. "And the fact that Roman refrained from telling anyone about it is even more concerning. We only know because Virgil happened to be here during one circumstance." He added. 

"Oh my god..." Remy muttered. 

Janus just nodded. It wasn't even dinner yet and he already needed coffee from the stress.

"Is the coffee done?" Remy asked tiredly. "Too much has happened today." He said. 

"Nearly," Janus replied. 

"Ughhh, why does it take so long to make coffeeeeeee?" Remy exclaimed.

"It's been about a minute, Remy," Janus said with exasperation.

"Actually, it's been a minute and twenty-three seconds," Logan spoke up from the doorway.

"Oh my god. Did you hear all of that?" Remy asked.

"Most of it." Logan walked in and adjusted his glasses. "A sufficient amount, at least, to confirm my suspicions." He said matter-of-factly. 

Remy put his hands up in surrender. "I know almost nothing!" He exclaimed dramatically.

"I'm aware, Remy. I do have some questions for you, however, Janus." Logan turned off the coffee machine and swiped the first cup.

"/Wonderful/" Janus sighed. "Wait until I /haven’t/ got my coffee," he muttered. 

"Very well, I suppose." Logan nodded.

"Finally!" Remy said. "Gimmee," he went to the coffee maker and waited for Janus to finish filling his cup.

Logan's face twitched, which was the equivalent of a laugh. "We have more than enough coffee, there is no need to grab," he said. 

"Well, a lot has happened today.  _ ExcUSe _ me for wanting coffee," Remy said.

Logan eyed him a bit. "Well, Thomas has just finished reading A Wrinkle In Time again, and I have been researching the theories all day. What happened to you two?" He questioned. 

Neither Remy nor Janus responded for a moment. "How much did you hear?" Remy asked.

"I heard something about Darkside traits just before I got here, which I'm assuming is referring to Janus's snake form and Remus's tentacles. I have been theorizing about Virgil's trait for years now, and I've come to two possible conclusions, but I would like to hear what it is before I convey that information." Logan stated.

Janus cut in. "That's /definitely/ your business, Logic," he said protectively. 

Logan startled. "I... I was not attempting to be rude. I apologize if I seemed that way, but I suppose I will stay in the dark for now." His voice betrayed how hard that would be for him. "I am simply seeking knowledge. I do not wish to pry."

"You alright, there?" Remy asked the logical side.

"I am not very competent at the expression of my emotions, or understanding the emotions of others." Logan fiddled with his tie. "It is... difficult for me to know when and where to stop asking," he mumbled. 

"I see. Well, if you wish to know more, you /needn't/ ask Virgil and Roman yourself. I /am/ sure if it is information I am allowed to share," Janus claimed.

"I- I see." Logan took another swallow of coffee. "And... where will I find them at the moment?" He asked. 

Remy's eyes widened as he glanced at Janus. "You have to promise not to freak out if-"

"/Don’t/ stop, Remy. They /aren’t/ in Roman's room, but don't be surprised if they won't answer or talk to you," Janus interrupted. "And don't push it, they've had a long day."

"So... I should not approach them right now?" Logan seemed confused. "But you are not going to speak to me either," he said.

"You can go, just they might not answer. Oh, and don't be too loud, because-" Remy stopped, feeling Janus' glare. "-reasons,"

"Very well." Logan downed the rest of his coffee. "I am never loud, with rare exceptions. And I... I will approach them later." He left the uncomfortable atmosphere of the kitchen. "I have more research to do."

Remy let out a breath. He turned to Janus. "Sorry, I don't know how much I can say,"

Janus sighed. "It's alright. I'm also a bit unclear on what Virgil and Roman would like to share about their escapades of late." He picked up his cup of coffee and added sugar. "And Logan is intelligent, he will eventually figure it out whether he is told or not."

"Yeah," Remy muttered, sipping his coffee.

"I'm sorry you got pulled into all of this. But I would like to know, what happened today? You explained briefly earlier, but I would like to know the train of events as you saw them."

"Well Virgil came to hang out with me earlier this morning, and a few minutes later, Emmy came in all panicked, so we asked him why. He was worried cause he couldn't find Roman," Remy said. 

"Hmm. I thought Roman was in the imagination?" Janus asked. 

"He was. Emmy just couldn't find him," Remy explained. 

"Hm." Janus took a slow gulp and nodded for Remy to continue.

"So, obviously, Virgil got worried about his boyfriend-" Remy said. 

Janus choked. "I'm sorry, what?!" He asked. 

Remy’s eyes widened. “Uh… I mean…” he rushed to find an excuse. 

“I knew it,” the snake grinned. “How did  _ you _ know?” he questioned. 

“Idek what you’re talking about,” Remy insisted. “Anygays, we all went to The Imagination to look for Roman, and-” he continued. 

“No, no, we’re talking about this. What happened?” Janus interrupted. 

“I can’t tell you~,” Remy said in a sing-song voice. 

“And Virgil yells at me for being a little shit.” Janus looked back at Remy and saw his face. He sighed overdramatically. “Well, I suppose we can continue. I /will/ tell Virgil you slipped up, but I am going to be asking some questions later. Continue,” he murmured. 

“Okay then,” Remy said. “When we went to look for Roman, Virgil started to panic, so I left him, and then I found Roman by myself. Then I went and got Virgil, and he was running, so he tripped-”

“Hold on, you left him alone?” Janus looked peeved.

“He told me to!” Remy defended.

"You can't just listen to him when he's like that!" Janus exclaimed. 

"He wasn't going to stop panicking until we found Roman, so I reminded him to breathe and I went to find his- I mean- Roman!" Remy said. 

Janus rubbed his face. "I suppose so. Proceed." He said tiredly. 

"Thank you," Remy muttered before continuing. "Then basically there was a dragon, so we woke Roman up," he said. 

"A dragon?!" Janus shouted. 

Remy nodded. "Mhm! Then the dragon blew fire at us and Emmy got burned," he paused. "And so Virgil went all spidery and told me and Emmy to leave, so we did."

"God." Janus leaned against the counter. "It's always them, isn't it?" He muttered. 

"Hm?" Remy asked.

Janus sighed and went into the dining room. "I suppose Virgil wouldn't be... adverse to me explaining the rest, especially since you just went through that." He pulled out two chairs and sat down, leaning on the table. "Take a seat, Sleep. It's a rather long story."

Remy sat down. "Spill the tea," he said. 

"I don't know all the details, so I'll spare you most of them." Janus exhaled, the breath swaying the steam from his cup. "Remus attacked Roman about a month ago, and Virgil intervened. Both of them got injured in the process. Two nights ago, Remus got back at them by trapping them in Virgil's room and essentially poisoning Virgil. I found them and got Virgil his antidote. Those are the bare essentials, but there are some complications." He explained. 

"Holy- I'm so confuzzled," Remy whispered. 

Janus rolled his eyes a bit. "About a month ago, Roman called for Virgil because Remus was attacking him Virgil got rid of Remus and got hurt, and Roman blamed himself." He took a sip. "Two nights ago, Remus followed Virgil into his room and locked both him and Roman inside, after putting a toxin into Virgil via absorbent slime. Virgil got incredibly sick and I distributed the antidote. Roman and Virgil blame themselves for the occasion. And now, today." He said. 

"No, yeah, I got that just- whoa," Remy said quietly. 

"Indeed. It /isn't/ a lot to take in." Janus nodded. 

"D'you think we should check on them?" Remy asked.

Janus shrugged. "They might want some time to themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if Roman was already asleep." he said. 

"Sounds about right. Tbh, I hope he is, cause he /really/ needs it, like- so much," Remy said worriedly. 

Janus froze. "Is that so?" He asked. 

Remy nodded slightly.

Janus put down his coffee. "Do you know if he  _ can't _ sleep, or if he just  _ doesn't _ ?" He questioned. 

"Um, I couldn't tell ya. I know, but that's his own business," Remy said. 

"Well. When he wakes up, he's going to have to answer to a Self Care Snek." Janus muttered.

"He probably won't want to. He may just ignore you, tbh," Remy said. 

"I wish him good luck," Janus smirked. 

"He's a stubborn little bitch, so... I wish  _ you _ good luck," Remy laughed lightly. 

Janus turned to Remy and smiled creepily. "Thank you, but I'll /need/ it." He said. 

"What do you-?" Remy started.

"Hey, guys." Virgil came down the stairs, wearing one of Roman's hoodies to cover his arm and his bandaged forehead.

"Hey," Remy smiled. "Is that-?" He asked. 

Virgil nodded. "Roman’s? Yeah, I needed something to cover my bandages in case someone else was down here, but I'm pretty sure Patton's in his room and I just passed Logan." He eyed Janus's coffee and sat down next to him. "He seemed a little... off."

"He /didn't/ overhear a little bit of a conversation. We gave him no information other than if he wished to speak with you and Roman to /not/ be quiet. Would you like some coffee?" Janus asked. 

"He what?" Virgil straightened and winced when his head snapped up. "What did he hear? I thought he was looking at me funny, did he-" He gulped down the next sentence and sank back into his chair. "Yeah, some coffee would be nice."

Janus nodded. He began to get Virgil some coffee and began to explain. "We /weren't/ talking about the happenings of today and he overheard some of the conversation," he told Virgil. 

"What did he... what did he hear?" Virgil asked carefully. 

"We /are/ a hundred percent sure," Janus muttered.

"What were you talking about, then? That he could've heard?" Virgil fidgeted with the hood strings.

"The dragon," Remy said, avoiding mentioning the anxious side's trait.

Virgil took a deep breath. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad for him to know that..." He snuck a sip of Janus's coffee, wrinkling his nose a bit but downing a couple of bigger swallows. "Oh, and uh, Emile sunk out."

"I should go check on him. Just… to make sure he's okay" Remy said. 

"Right." Virgil smiled. "I think he went to his apartment. It's almost 2:30, you two should have dinner at his place in a couple of hours."

Remy rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he sank out.

"I /do/ wish to make you more anxious, Virgil, but we did speak briefly of your trait. He may have overheard," Janus looked at Virgil.

Virgil gripped the table to steady himself. "O-ok." He took a couple of deep breaths. "Good to know. Thanks, Jan." He said. 

"It /won't/ be alright, Virgil, I'm sure," Janus stated.

"Right," Virgil muttered. "Is the coffee almost done?"

Janus nodded. "I apologize. I just figured it /wouldn’t/ be better for you to know now instead of finding out later," he explained.

"It makes sense," Virgil said. 

Janus nodded. "I /don’t/ have a question for you," he said.

Virgil nodded for him to go ahead.

"You /aren’t/ aware of Roman's sleeping habits, correct?" Janus questioned. 

Virgil sighed. "I'm pretty sure he hasn't been sleeping a lot, or at least not sleeping well. Why?" He replied. 

"Are you /not/ aware of whether he  _ can't _ sleep, or just  _ won't _ sleep?" Janus inquired. 

"I- I don't know." Virgil crossed his arms. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's been deciding not to consciously. I mean, he's probably gotten a little paranoid about... Remus..."

"Would you prefer asking him over me /not/ asking him?" Janus questioned.

"I mean..." Virgil exhaled. "If you can convince him to go to sleep... I wouldn't be... against it? I don't think he'll be comfortable with it, but I don't know anyone who could provide a better argument for it than you." He said. 

Janus nodded. "I believe that if you /don’t/ ask he will be more open, but you /aren’t/ likely correct about my convincing tactics," he agreed. 

"Okay, I guess." Virgil took a shaky breath. "You talk to him. When he wakes up, I mean. He fell asleep a couple of minutes ago."

Janus nodded. He then smirked at Virgil’s hoodie. "On another matter-" he started. 

Virgil turned red at Deceit’s look. "Shut up! No!" He exclaimed.

"You /can/ tell me you aren't at  _ least _ interested in him," Janus insisted. 

"No! I'm not talking about this!" Virgil curled his legs onto the chair underneath the hoodie and pulled on the strings.

"Remy /didn't/ call him your boyfriend," Janus smirked. 

Virgil sat up. "That bitch!" He shouted. 

Janus chuckled. "So…?" He asked. 

Virgil mumbled something under his breath.

"Hm? What was that?" Janus asked cockily.

"I said ok! Fine! He's cute! Fucking sue me!" Virgil buried his face in the hoodie and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Leave me alone!"

"Ha!" Janus cheered. 

"Shut up, dammit!" Virgil hissed. 

"I am  _ never _ letting this go. So... have you /not/ done anything about your little 'crush'?" Janus asked. 

"I never should have told you." Virgil sighed. "Yeah, I have. We have. He did."

"Oh?" Janus smirked.

"If you expect me to tell you, then you can think again-" Virgil began. 

"Ah. Then I suppose I just /won't/ have to guess," Janus said.

"Don't you fucking dare-!" Virgil shouted. 

"Did you... ask him out? Vice-versa?" Janus guessed. 

Virgil turned a little more pink. "Just stop it, Jan-" he begged. 

"Did you kiss? Oh you did, didn't you?" Janus smirked. 

Virgil spluttered and flushed even harder. "I- no-" He said quickly. 

Janus saw right through the lie. "You must have /not/ forgotten whom you're speaking with."

Anxiety stopped and looked at the far wall. "Maybe. So what if we did?" He muttered. 

Janus smirked. "So you kissed? But you /have/ asked him out?" He asked. 

"I mean. No. We've been a little busy since then..." Virgil mumbled. 

Janus raised an eyebrow.

Virgil stopped and turned a shade similar to Roman's sash. "Not like that! It was this morning, and a lot has happened since then!" He exclaimed. 

"I'm kidding! Of course, I'm kidding," Janus said, laughing. 

Virgil glared at him and rested his chin on his knees. "You had better be."

Roman sleepily walked in. "What's going on in here?" He asked. 

Virgil exhaled and turned around in his chair. "Nothing, Ro. What are you doing up already?" He replied. 

"Because I am...? I guess...?" Roman mumbled. 

Virgil stood up. "You have a concussion and a hurt wrist. You should be resting." He said worriedly. 

Roman looked slightly confused, but only for a moment. "That explains the headache. And the wrist brace. What happened?" He asked.

Virgil came and made him sit down at the table. "What do you remember?" He asked carefully. 

"How bad /wasn't/ that concussion?" Janus asked.

"Pretty bad, his eyes were barely dilating at all," Virgil said off-handedly.

"I went to The Imagination and fell asleep. I woke up in my bed with a pounding headache and a wrist brace," Roman responded.

"Well, basically we got attacked by a dragon." Virgil braced himself.

"Dammit!" Roman whispered. "Who's included in 'we'?" He asked. 

"It's okay, Ro. No one was hurt as badly as you were." Virgil winced. "Me, you, Emile, and Remy were all there. Remy's fine, Emile got burned a bit. I have some cuts from when we fell off the dragon-"

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit-" Roman exclaimed.

"Hey, hey hey, calm down. Look at me." Virgil took Roman by the shoulders. "Am I okay?" He asked. 

Roman looked at him. "Y- you have bandages o- on your head-" He stammered. 

"Because cuts on the head bleed a lot. Breath." He sent Janus a look but looked back at Roman. "Am I okay?"

"I- I don't know-" Roman muttered.

"I'm okay, Roman. You're okay, Emile is okay, and Remy is okay. We're all a little shaken, but right now we're all mostly worried about you." Virgil said softly. 

"B- but  _ why _ ? I-" Roman began. 

"Because you got hurt. You're worried about us, and we're worried about you." Virgil explained. 

"But it's- I'm fine- I just- but you-" Roman's breathing became slightly faster. 

"You got hurt the most out of all of us. Our injuries were made in the imagination and we'll heal within a few days. You, however, won't." Virgil said. 

"It's just- I've dealt with the dragon before, but-" Roman muttered. 

"And now I have, too. The dragon didn't even give me these cuts, I actually... I actually kind of enjoyed the rush." Virgil admitted.

"It's just- wait- you said Emile got burnt? Wait- is he okay? Is-" Roman asked worriedly. 

"He's back at his apartment with Remy, he's fine." Virgil soothed. "But you need to go back to bed."

"N- no... I can't," Roman muttered. 

"Why not?" Virgil was getting a little exasperated with the creative side.

"I- what if-?" Roman stammered. "What if Remus-"

"Calm down. We're all okay, you're okay. Take a couple of deep breaths." Virgil put a hand on Roman's forehead to check his temperature. "You can't answer properly like this. Take it slow." He said softly. 

Roman nodded slightly. He started to try to take deep breaths.

"There you go." Roman's forehead was a little hot so Virgil turned to Janus. "Could you grab some water or something?" He asked. 

Janus nodded, standing up to go get water for Roman.

"Remus isn't here, Ro." Virgil rubbed the side of Roman's shoulders with the palms of his hands. "We're safe right now, okay?"

Roman nodded. "Okay," he mumbled. "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay." Virgil smiled a bit and moved back as Janus came back with the water. "I'm just worried about you."

"I know, it's just... weird, I guess," Roman responded.

"Yeah..." Virgil whispered. "I get it,"

Janus handed Roman the water. "/Don’t/ drink that slowly," he recommended.

Virgil nervously sipped Janus's coffee as he watched Roman drink.

They sat in silence for a moment.

Virgil sighed again. "You really should head back to sleep, Ro," he said softly. 

Roman shook his head. "I- Remus, he's going to try to-" he started. 

"He won't come if someone else is there, right?" Virgil intervened. 

Roman shrugged. "I- honestly don’t know... anymore," he muttered. 

"Hmm. Well, I can come if it makes you feel safer." Virgil suggested. 

Roman nodded slightly, looking at the ground. "It's just- you probably have so much stuff you'd rather be doing, and I wouldn't want to-" he rambled. 

"Nope. I would be worried about you if I went and did anything else, not that I really have anything else to do." Virgil set Janus's coffee back down on the table, having downed most of it by now. "It wouldn't be a problem at all."

"Really?" Roman mumbled, looking up at Virgil.

"Really." Virgil helped Roman to his feet and stood up. "But first you should drink something."

"I'm not really thirsty," Roman mumbled.

"You have a concussion. I don't know a lot about them but I'm pretty sure being hydrated is important." He looked to Janus for confirmation, as well as prompting him to give Roman the glass of water.

Janus nodded. "Virgil's /not/ right. At least have some," Janus placed the cup in Roman's hands.

"Technically being hydrated is always important, but you've never let that stop you," Virgil muttered under his breath.

Janus didn't hear Virgil, but Roman laughed lightly. "I mean, you aren't wrong," he replied. 

"You really should drink more water all the time, but for now I'm going to settle for this." Virgil gestured at the cup in his hands.

"I... fine," Roman sighed. "It isn't my fault that I'm used to being dehydrated," he muttered. 

"That is in fact a lie, just drink your water," Virgil said. 

"Fine," Roman rolled his eyes but had the glass empty in less than ten seconds.

"Not thirsty, huh?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean to tell me that you can't drink a glass of water in that little time?" Roman questioned.

"At least I drink water regularly!" Virgil said. 

"I don't know what you mean, that was completely normal," Roman responded. 

"Yeah, Uhuh." Virgil stretched and winced a little at his arm. "Just get to bed." He said. 

"You winced. Something happened to your arm, too, didn't it?" Roman asked quietly.

"I should probably explain what happened a bit more, shouldn't I?" Virgil put his arms down "Come on, we can talk upstairs." He said, standing up. 

Roman nodded slightly. "Okay," he said. 

Virgil nodded. "You go ahead, I'm gonna refill this just in case." He headed back to the kitchen.

Roman slowly walked back up the stairs and headed to his room. He waited for Virgil at his door.

Virgil headed back to the stairs with a refilled cup, checking the time. It was almost 3:00. "Hey, Jan, could you come up for us when Pat starts dinner?"

Janus silently nodded. "Go on," he said. "Go protect your boyfriend."

Virgil turned red and stormed up the stairs, slowing when he almost spilled some water. He met Roman at the door and prodded it open with his foot.

"Careful," Roman said tiredly.

"Says the one with the concussion," Virgil smiled a bit and tried to squash the flush on his face as he followed Roman into the room. "So... where should I start?" He asked. 

"The... beginning?" Roman muttered. 

"Oh yeah." Virgil laughed a little awkwardly and set the water down on the nightstand. He sat on the bed. "Before I start, why did you go over there to sleep? Why not at the sink in point?" He questioned. 

"I... was at the sink in point," Roman responded.

Virgil blinked. "But... you weren't. We had to look for like, fifteen minutes before we found you." He said. 

"Oh," Roman slapped his forehead. He winced.

"Careful!" Virgil exclaimed worriedly. 

"Sorry," Roman mumbled.

"Why'd you do that?" Virgil asked fretfully.

"Remus. He probably thought it would be funny to see Emile panic about me missing." Roman replied. 

Virgil's stomach sank. "Oh god. I- I'm so sorry." He muttered. 

Roman shrugged. "It isn't like he hasn't done worse,"

"No, it's not that, I..." Virgil started to rub his finger and thumb together, one of his many nervous habits. "I was yelling about it earlier. You... I'm sorry." he explained. 

"Oh. It's alright. You didn't know, it wasn't your fault," Roman responded. 

"You got upset about it." Virgil rubbed a bit faster. "We ran out of adrenaline and I yelled at you and you got upset and..." He trailed off. 

"It's fine, really." Roman insisted.

"No, it's not!" Virgil argued back. "You always apologize about the smallest things, and I yelled at you when I know you don't like it when people yell, and it wasn't even your fault, and I just-" he began to rant.

"Virgil," Roman said softly. "It's okay. It really is, okay? I don't even remember it, so no harm done, right? It's okay,"

Virgil took a deep breath. "Right. I guess." He noticed his fingers and settled them in his lap. "So, you left for the Imagination at breakfast. You remember that, right?" He asked. 

"Yeah," Roman responded. 

"So, after you left Patton asked me to check up on you after breakfast. And I knew you were going to meet up with Emile so I didn't want to interrupt that and I... I lied and went to see Remy instead." Virgil leaned back on the bed. "If I had just done it anyways we could have avoided this whole mess," He murmured.

"You did everything just how you thought you should," Roman said softly. 

Virgil sighed. "I guess." He looked back at Roman from his awkward position on the bed. "Well, I went to Remy's place and we talked for a while..." He flushed a little at the thought of what they talked about. "And then Emile showed up and said he couldn't find you, so we all went to the Imagination to look for you."

Roman nodded. 

"Emile went one way and Remy and I went the other way, and I had to stop... to take a breather, and Remy went on without me to keep looking, and he found you. You were asleep and he could tell you needed it," Virgil sent a half-hearted glare in Roman's direction. "Which we will be talking about, by the way."

Roman winced slightly. "I'm sorry. It's just- you already have so much on your own plate, it's not fair for you to have to deal with me too," he muttered. 

"Roman. If you have trouble sleeping, it would help us to feel reassured about you to know that you are doing well. If that means spending time or resources on you instead of ourselves, then it's nothing you haven't done for us, and we'll willingly do it. I think I speak for not just me when I say that." Virgil insisted. 

"I'll be fine. I always have been, haven't I?" Roman said quietly. 

"But how much longer?" Virgil replied softly. "How much longer will you be 'fine', before we can convince you that it's okay for you to not be fine? For you to be better than fine?" He asked carefully. 

Roman stayed silent.

"I'm worried about you, Roman. Why don't you think you can come to us?"  _ Am I not trustworthy? _ The thought hit him hard. He had worked so hard for the Light sides to finally trust him, had he not done enough? He kept going. "One day- one day you're going to be a little less 'fine' than usual, and we're not going to notice because you never say anything, and that's going to have lasting effects and you're going to get hurt." Virgil was fighting to keep his eyes dry.

"I don't want to be a burden," Roman whispered.

"You're not a burden!" The anxious side gripped the comforters. "We don't want you hurt, just as much as you don't want us hurt! What would you say if this was me? If I insisted on getting hurt, over and over, just so that you wouldn't? If I wouldn't even ask for help with my life on the line? How would you feel, Roman? What would you say?" He sat up and turned away from Roman. "Because I... I don't know what to say. I don't know how to get you to understand."

"That's different, Virgil. I don't know why, but it is. I can stand to see myself hurt. But the people I care about? That's a different story altogether," Roman mumbled. 

"It's the same for us, Roman.  _ We care about you. _ I don't know how much more of you getting hurt on my behalf I can take. I don't think I could take it..." Virgil swallowed down his Adam's apple. "I don't think I could..." He blinked, stubbornly not letting himself cry in front of Roman. "I know you don't see yourself in the same way you see us. But I just... The next time you're in a position where it's you getting hurt a lot, or us getting hurt a little, I want you to think about what you would want us to do in that situation." He said. 

Roman nodded slightly, not saying anything.

Virgil took a shaky breath after a moment of silence and continued. "Remy found you and left you sleeping. He called Emile because I didn't have my phone on me, and Emile told him to make a path back to me so he wouldn't lose you again. He found me and the Emile caught up with us." He continued the story. 

Roman sighed. "Okay," he muttered. 

"I started running because I know how many things will kill you in the Imagination," Virgil swallowed. "Remy started running to keep up, Emile had to slow down because he has asthma. I, uh... I tripped over your leg." 

Roman held back a laugh.

Virgil crossed his arms. "You can laugh. It's fine." He gave a sheepish smile.

Roman giggled lightly, motioning for Virgil to continue.

"Yeah, I hit the ground pretty hard. I probably bruised your shin, sorry about that." Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. "Remy and I sat there for a while until Emile showed up, and then we all talked for maybe... two minutes? Less? And then I felt the ground shake a little and got really paranoid." 

Roman nodded. "A reasonable reaction," he muttered.

"Y-yeah." Virgil let out a big breath. "So, I told them to be quiet, and then they were quiet and we all felt it and then I woke you up and we all hid beneath the trees. And I asked you what it was and you said it was the dragon and I started to panic a little bit." He said. 

"Oh, no-" Roman started. 

"It's okay. You got me to calm down, and I got the other two to stay quiet. It kept coming for us, and we were pretty much silent and it stopped pretty much right above us, I think it sniffed us out? I don't know, but it was going pretty fine until Emile coughed." Virgil said.

Roman put his hand over his mouth.

Virgil turned to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. We're all okay." He continued quickly, to get the story over with. "The next thirty seconds is pretty much a blur. The dragon saw us and roared pretty loudly. Emile kind of froze, you tried to get me and Remy to run but Remy tried to protect Emile, Emile got Remy out of the way before the dragon shot fire but he got caught on the leg a bit." He stopped for Roman to take it in.

"But you're sure he's o-" Roman began. 

"Yes, Roman, Emile's fine. He passed out, Remy brought him back here and took care of the burn, he'll be back to normal in no time." Virgil reassured.

Roman nodded. "Sorry," he muttered. "Continue."

"It's fine, I'd be pretty worried too." Virgil sighed. "Well, Remy left with Emile. I took off my shirt and jacket so I could manifest without ripping my clothes for once. We took out the dragon, I wouldn't recommend the throat spot or the underbelly spot by the way. He might be a bit salty about the eye too, but it's his own damn fault for not having any good traction on his face." He said. 

Roman laughed.

Virgil grinned. "You went for the neck and that's how you got your concussion, I think the wrist too. Basically, I got back onto him and crawled to his underbelly and lifted you up, I think that's when your wrist really broke. You stabbed him, I had to jump off so we weren't crushed, and that's how my head and arm got cut." He was glad to see Roman happy.

"Can I look? To see how bad they are? And to help in any way possible?" Roman asked quietly.

Virgil chuckled a bit, but pulled off the hoodie, exposing his bandaged arm and Roman's tee. "You've already looked over them once, but if it makes you feel better, then of course."

"Yes, but I was probably delirious and had almost no clue what I was actually doing," Roman replied.

Virgil nodded and bent over a little so Roman could inspect his head, then flushed hard when he remembered what Roman had said while delirious. "I-I mean, Remy helped too." He stated. 

"He probably doesn't have much experience with wounds, though. He works in a coffee shop," Roman said, carefully removing the bandages on Virgil's head and arm.

"Yeah, but I was gonna have Janus look them over. And I may be a bit rusty but I can handle myself, you know." Virgil tried to cool his face but it wasn't helping that Roman was being all cute about his wounds.

"I suppose. What's got you all flustered, hot topic?" Roman asked, carefully inspecting the wounds.

"I- nothing." Virgil stammered. 

"I said something, didn't I?" Roman asked, his eyes widening.

"No! I mean- yeah, you... you did." Virgil stared at the bed. "When you were kind of out of it."

"Oh god. What did I say?" Roman asked, bracing himself. 

Reddening harder, Virgil rubbed his thumbs against each other while Roman looked at the hour-old gash on his head. "Some... some shit about my eyes, or something. I don't know,"

Roman almost slapped his face again before remembering the concussion. "What about them?"

"I... something- something about them being- being pretty." Virgil wasn't ready to be having this conversation, but here he was. "I- I don't know, you were falling asleep, and we had to snap you out of it, I don't... I wasn't paying attention. Too much. I guess."  _ Shut up, shut up, shut up! _

"Oh my god. I'm an idiot," Roman muttered to himself. 

"No, no. You were just delirious. I- I've just never had anyone... say that."  _ Shut up shut up shut up _ "Or anything like that. So, obviously, the first person to say something would be someone who's been hit on the head..." He looked down. 

"Well, it is true. Your eyes are quite pretty, Virgil," Roman smirked.

Virgil turned away a little bit. "You don't have to make me feel better about it. I know you were just messing around."

"No, I mean it. Seriously," Roman said. 

"It's fine, Roman," Virgil mumbled. 

"Virgil," Roman grabbed Virgil's face. "I mean it."

Virgil's heart skipped a beat. "But- you do?" He asked. 

"Yes, I mean it," Roman said softly. 

"O-oh." Virgil blinked hard. "I- I, um. thanks. I guess." he murmured. 

"Are you alright, Virgil?" Roman asked quietly.

"I- yeah. It's just...." Virgil pulled back a bit, making Roman's hands fall. "I've never... thought that way. About myself. So I guess it's, uh. Hard to believe."

Roman tilted his head slightly. "I see. Well, I'll tell you this, Virgil. You are absolutely perfect in every way. Whether you believe it or not," Roman responded. 

"I-" Virgil stared at him blankly, eyes wide and mind racing. "You- You think that?"  _ What the hell? _

Roman shook his head. "I know it, Vee," he said. 

"I- stop. I'm far from perfect. I- I can't go in my own room because I'll freeze up. I can't get you to help yourself instead of us, I can't tell Patton about my trait-" Virgil started to rant. 

"And that's okay. You're only human, Virgil," Roman said softly. "And when I said you're perfect, I only meant in the important ways."

"Important? I would say access to your room would count as-" Virgil began. 

"Well then, it's a good thing you're always welcome in my room, yeah?" Roman interrupted. 

Virgil spluttered. "This- no! I can't stay in your room forever!"

"It doesn't have to be forever. Just until you feel safe and comfortable in your own room," Roman said softly.

"We don't know how long that could take! I can't- I won't get in the way, I can go back tonight." Virgil shuddered at the thought but seemed insistent.

"Then I must insist that I come with you. Until you feel safe," Roman said. 

"I- no, you need to rest. You  _ should _ be resting, and my bed isn't nearly as comfortable as yours." Virgil insisted. 

"Well then, I suppose you should stay in my room. Otherwise, I refuse to give up," Roman said stubbornly. 

Virgil groaned. "Roman-"

"Virgil. You know me. I'm as stubborn as it gets, so I suggest you give in and tell me where you're staying tonight," Roman said. 

Virgil sighed and put his face in his hands.  _ Janus is never going to let this go, _ "Alright, alright. I'll stay here." 

Roman nodded. "Good," he smiled.

Virgil let out a big breath and pushed Roman's shoulder. "Now go to sleep, you dork."

Roman sighed. "Fine, whatever," he got in his bed. 

Virgil stood up to turn off the lights, then hurried to the desk chair when the room's shadows became much deeper. 

"You... promise you won't leave?" Roman asked timidly.

"I promise, Ro." Virgil sat down and turned the chair to face the bed. "Go to sleep."

Roman did what he had trained himself to do. He evened out his breath and closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep. And it wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, either. He just couldn't.

Virgil was suspicious but left Roman alone. He leaned back in the chair, thinking about the events of the day. What a day it had been, too.  _ Does he really think I'm perfect? That doesn't make sense. He said my freckles were cute, but my eyes? What's up with that? I hope I didn't just ruin everything by arguing with him. Is he really asleep? _ Virgil's eyes started to droop, but he fought to stay awake.

Roman could tell that Virgil was tired. Every once in awhile, it seemed Virgil would shake his head, trying to keep himself alert.

_ Come on, Virgil. You're Anxiety, for god's sake. You should be able to stay awake for this! _ He sat in a way that was more uncomfortable in the cushioned chair.  _ Just stay alert, you promised. Think about- think about Remus. He could come in any second. He could poison you again, or Roman. He could stab you in your sleep- stay awake, dammit! _

Roman noticed Virgil's breathing becoming heavier. He silently sighed. "It's okay, Virgil. Come here, you should get some sleep too." He whispered.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, or- or unsafe or anything. I can stay up." Virgil insisted. 

"Come on. It's perfectly fine," Roman said softly. 

"Alright, I guess." Virgil stood up and fumbled his way to the bed in the darkness. He climbed onto the bed, turning away from Roman so as not to make it awkward. "Try to actually sleep this time, Ro."

Roman nodded slowly. "I'll try,"

"Kay." Virgil didn't close his eyes, but laid still, listening to Roman's breathing.

Roman rolled over and wrapped his arm around Virgil. The man froze and tensed for a second, but cautiously relaxed into the touch. Roman smiled softly. He then slowly let himself slip into unconsciousness.

Virgil waited until he was sure Roman was asleep, and then slowly rolled over under his arm and maneuvered the sheets over himself.

"G'night, Ro," Virgil muttered.

"Night," Roman mumbled, half asleep.

Virgil curled up and closed his eyes, soon drifting off.


	7. I Beg Your Pardon?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan makes some observations and everyone Ships It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for smoke, choking, scars, and concussions
> 
> Enjoy!

Virgil scrambled through the forest, close behind Roman. The dragon raged behind them and the fire followed quickly. The smoke was getting thicker by the second. "Can't you sink us out?!" He exclaimed, then coughed.

Roman shook his head. "I- I can't. Can you try?" He asked.

Virgil tried to, and the uncomfortable sensation of a failed sinking settled in his stomach. "I c-can't. We're stu-uck," He let out a couple of ragged coughs, slowing in his run. Smoke clouded his vision, stinging his eyes and filling his lungs.

"W- what d-" Roman coughed. "What do we... d- do?"

"I d- don't know." Virgil felt his legs go weak, he couldn't keep pace with the fire for much longer. It already felt like he was going in slow motion compared to the world around him.

He could hardly see anymore and realized he had lost Roman. "Roman?!" He couldn't see the side anywhere through the thick smog.

"Virgil!" Roman shouted.

Virgil turned, looking for the voice he could barely hear over the flames. "Where did you g-go?" He brought his shirt up to his face, which did little to filter the air. He was going to run out of oxygen soon.

"I- I don't-!" Roman fell into a coughing fit.

"Roman!" Virgil spun in a circle, searching for anything. "Ro- oman!"

He picked a direction and ran, the forest floor transitioning to the smooth floor of his room; his footsteps echoing around him. He couldn't hear Roman's coughing anymore and burst into another fit of his own.

The smoke pressed down on him, his lungs and his eyes and all around him. The fog had never done this before.

"Ro-" He couldn't breathe anymore. His room was choking him. He collapsed to His knees, gasping for oxygen that wasn't there.

Virgil flinched and opened his eyes as the door to Roman's room opened suddenly. 'Just a dream,' he thought, shaking a bit. 'Just a dream, you can breathe.'

Roman woke up as he heard his bedroom door open. He noticed Virgil next to him, breathing heavily, also awake. He found that he had his arm wrapped around Virgil and Virgil had his arm wrapped around Roman. Virgil seemed to realize the position they were in and scrambled to sit up, flustered, and still shaking.

"Dinner's r- oh look at the two of you; how cute.” The voice was teasing but halted on the last word hesitantly. “Wait, what /isn't/ wrong?" Janus said from the doorway.

Virgil put a hand to his forehead and tried to shake himself out of his nightmare. They had been more common recently, probably because of all the fighting... "It's nothing, I'm fine." He muttered sleepily.

Roman sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Janus?" He asked.

Janus rolled his eyes. "Don’t lie, Virgil." he scolded.

"It was just a dream," Virgil said nonchalantly. He sighed, relieved to feel the oxygen come freely, the adrenaline rush cooling down and leaving him shaky. "I'm alright. How did you sleep, Ro?" He asked.

"Fine," Roman responded tiredly. "You're sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah," Virgil took a deep breath and stretched, wincing a bit at sore muscles. He really was going soft.

Janus rolled his eyes. "If you two are done, Patton /doesn't/ have dinner ready. If I may ask, how /don’t/ you plan to hide the fact that you are both injured?" He asked.

Virgil sagged a bit. "I forgot about that." He fought back a yawn, he hadn't gotten as much sleep last night as he would have liked. "Um, Roman, do you think my cuts are good enough to take off the bandages or will I need to just hide them for now?"

"I'm not sure. Logan is extremely observant, so I might say just hide them for now," Roman muttered.

"And you, Roman?" Janus questioned.

"I... don't know. My brain isn't working very well right now, unsurprisingly," Roman responded.

Virgil slid out of bed and turned his neck in a rough circle, making loud pops. "You probably won’t like this option, but… we could tell them what happened. It's similar to the story we went with last time, I think it’s reasonable..." He turned to Roman to gauge his expression.

"I don't want them to worry," Roman mumbled.

Virgil sighed. "Well, I don't know what else to tell them. This sort of thing does happen a lot, and it would be a lot less worrying than us trying to hide it then getting caught..." he reasoned.

"I suppose..." Roman muttered, looking down.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Virgil said quickly, "But I don't know what else we would tell them."

Roman sighed. "No, it's fine, I guess," he said quietly.

"How much are you comfortable with telling them? Do you want to leave Emile and Remy out of it, or-?"

Roman nodded. "They don't need to be dragged into this any more than they already are," he said.

"Okay. What if I went up to check on you as Patton asked, and then we met up, and then the dragon attacked? That seems plausible, right?" He looked at Janus.

Janus simply nodded. "That /doesn't/ seem like it will work,"

Virgil rubbed his face. He needed to reapply his makeup. "Alright. I have to put more foundation on before we go down."

Roman grumbled a bit and got out of bed. "You can use my foundation. I don't want you to have to go back to your room yet,"

"Fine." Virgil paused in his movement towards Roman’s vanity, remembering something he had forgotten to tell Roman about. "Give us a minute, Jan."

Janus smirked at Virgil before leaving, the anxious side returning a scathing look before beginning to apply makeup. "Hey, I just remembered a few things I forgot to tell you about earlier."

"Like what?" Roman asked.

"Well, uh..." Virgil sighed. "You nearly fell asleep and Remy had to wake you up. Remy knows about your appointment with Emile. And uh..." He swallowed. "Remus broke your glasses."

  
"Oh. Of course, he did, I'm not surprised. How did I react at the moment?" Roman sighed, silently pleading that he didn't make too much of a scene.

  
"You, uh... You were a little overwhelmed at the time, and you... you kinda broke down. That's how you fell asleep the first time."

  
Roman sighed. "Of course I did. I- I'm sorry, I was probably unbearable to deal with,"

  
"Of course not! Even if you had been, I would have done it anyway, it was-" Virgil stopped. "It was fine. No one could have blamed you, Remy looked a cup of coffee away from breaking down himself. I didn't handle it great either."

  
"Okay," Roman suddenly looked panicked. "Wait, so do they know about my glasses?" He asked a bit frantically

  
"No, I was quiet about it. They might have overheard, but if they did they didn't say anything." Virgil finished and stood up, then noticed Roman's state and went over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's Okay, Ro."

  
Roman took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm okay,"

  
Virgil smiled softly. "For the record, I really like your glasses." He started to leave the room. "They're cute."

  
Roman's face reddened as he went to follow Virgil.

  
Virgil went down the stairs, stopping at the bottom and taking a breath. He didn't want Patton to get too concerned over them, as he knew it would make Roman uncomfortable. But there wasn't much he could do, so he stepped down and continued to the kitchen.

  
Roman followed behind Virgil, trying to hide behind him. It didn't work very well, being that Roman was taller than Virgil by far.

  
Logan looked up from his conversation with Janus. "Ah, good afternoon Virgil. And Roman, who is standing peculiarly close behind Virgil for some reason." He quirked an eyebrow.

  
Virgil smiled weakly. "Hey, Lo. How's that research going?"

  
Logan nodded. "It is in fact... possible to create tesseracts, I believe. It would take an incredible amount of energy, as most theories of teleportation suggest."

  
"That's so cool, Lo!" Patton exclaimed.

  
Virgil took another step down the stairs and raised an eyebrow. "You... do realize that we pretty much teleport all the time, right?"

Logan's smile at Patton's praise froze. "I-" he held a hand up to his face and stared at the wall, deep in thought.

  
"Can we maybe lower the noise?" Roman asked softly.

"How's it going, kiddos?" Patton asked.Virgil swallowed. "It's, ah, it's going." He looked at Roman.

  
Janus rolled his eyes. "Idiots," he muttered. "I /mustn't/ request you keep your voices down. Roman has a head injury," he stated.

  
Logan shook himself out of his daze. "Terribly sorry, I have been looking at the void. Roman is injured?"

  
"What happened?" Patton asked worriedly.

  
"We're okay, Pat," Virgil spoke up. "Remember to keep it down."

  
"It's just a concussion," Roman mumbled.

  
"And a broken wrist," Janus added.

  
"And probably fu- frickin smoke inhalation." Virgil sighed, remembering his dream.

  
"And scrapes," Roman said quietly.

  
Logan stared. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the word 'just' supposed to convey minority?"

  
"We only listed four things," Roman said.

  
"Details. A concussion is a rather major injury, depending on its severity if I'm correct. Which I am."

  
"It isn't that- okay it's bad, but I'm fine," Roman responded quickly.

  
"And Virgil? You said, 'we'," Patton mentioned.

  
Virgil sank into the chair. "Oh, uh yeah. I did say that, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, I was there too."

  
"Virgil /didn't/ get the lesser of the injuries," Janus said.

  
"Just a couple scrapes, I'm alright." Virgil kicked at a chair so it was further away from the table. "Sit down, Ro."

  
Roman nodded slightly and sat down. "I'm the one that got a concussion and a broken wrist," he muttered, doing (one-handed) jazz hands.

  
Logan adjusted his chair. "I will have to insist on a medical check-up for the two of you if you are comfortable with it. Roman, I know you are well versed in medical treatment, but I would like to make certain you did them right. You still have not let me check on the wound from a month ago, how has it healed?"

  
"It's just a bruise," Roman mumbled.

  
"I'm- I'd be fine with a check-up if you think it's important, Lo," Virgil said hesitantly. "What would that mean?"

  
Logan pushed the casserole around his plate. "Well, it would include the average things for a doctor to check on, heart rate, reflexes, etc. I would have to inquire about your recent injuries as well as less recent ones. I would also need to take a look at Roman's head and X-ray his wrist."

  
Roman shook his head. "I- I'll be okay. You can check Vee, but I'll be okay, you don't have to-"

  
"Ro," Virgil said quietly. "Please?"

  
"I can't- that- I just-" Roman stammered. "I'm going to be in my room," he ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

  
"Roman-" Virgil called but didn't move from his seat while Roman left the room. "Should I-?" He looked helplessly at Janus.

  
Janus nodded. "Go," he said.

  
Virgil stood up and followed Roman up the stairs, but found the door closed and didn't go in. "Roman, please come back. We don't want to pressure you but you need to do this."

  
"I can't," Roman responded, his voice muffled.

  
"Why?" Virgil leaned against the door. "This is Logan, Ro. He's not going to hurt you."

  
"I- I know," Roman mumbled.

  
"So what is it, Ro? We can work around it. We want to help you," Virgil said softly.

  
"I can't really explain it, I just- I don't know, I can't," Roman said.

  
"I'm sorry." Virgil put one hand on the knob. "Can I come in?"

  
Roman nodded before realizing Virgil couldn't see him. "Y- yeah,"

  
Virgil closed the door behind him. The light was off, and he couldn't see a thing. "Ro?"

  
"I'm on my bed," Roman mumbled.

  
Virgil came over and sat next to him. "Roman..." He tried to think of something to say.

  
"I'm sorry," Roman said quietly.

  
Virgil pulled the prince into a tight hug. "For what?"

  
"I- I panicked. I just ran off, and I can't even properly explain why," Roman replied.

  
"Hey, this is me you're talking to. I can't count on one hand how many times I've done shit like that." Virgil tried to reassure.

  
Roman gave a slight laugh. "I just- it makes me feel bad,"

  
“I know. I’m sorry.”

  
“I’m not sure I can do this, Vee,” Roman murmured.

  
“What if I went with you? I’m doing it too, after all,” Virgil replied.

  
“I don’t know, it’s just- this is- I mean, I can’t really explain it, but just the idea of a doctor or anything like that just makes me feel queasy. There’s a reason I’m never in Logan’s lab,”

  
“Oh.” Virgil paused. “I guess… try not thinking of it that way? I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t… I don’t think you should do anything that makes you unhappy, but I also think that you need to get Logan’s help.”

  
Roman took a shuddered breath. “I- I’ll try. I made a promise to try to accept help. So- so I have to try,”

  
“I'm sorry,” Virgil said quietly. “I don’t want you to- to not want help.”

  
“No, I- I do want help. I really do, I promise, Vee. It’s just- different… and kind of scary,” Roman mumbled.

  
“We’re a trouble magnet, aren’t we?” Virgil sighed.

  
“I guess we are,” Roman laughed lightly.

  
“Do you want to go back, or should we hang out here?”

  
“Staying here will just delay the inevitable,” Roman muttered.

  
“I guess so,” Virgil agreed.

  
“Let’s go back,” Roman said. “I need to apologize to the others for freaking out anyways,”

  
"I don't think..." Virgil sighed. "Alright. I'm... I'm sorry for everything that's been happening."

  
"It isn't your fault though," Roman responded.

  
"I know. I'm sorry anyway." Virgil stood up and offered his hand to Roman.

  
"Okay then. Thank you? I don't know if there's a proper way to respond to that," Roman said, taking Virgil's hand.

  
"It's fine." Virgil helped him off the bed.

  
"Hey... um... Vee?" Roman asked. "Don't let go,"

  
"Wh..." Virgil looked at their hands and reddened. "O-oh. Sure." He led the way across the room, almost tripping a couple of times in the dark.

  
"Sorry, my room is a bit messy," Roman said.

  
"I-it's fine," Virgil responded. "I figure it makes up for almost dying in my room."

  
"I didn't almost die in your room," Roman denied.

  
"Fine, you almost passed out from hyperventilation in my room." He blinked harshly when he opened the door and walked slowly down the hallway.

  
"It's bright out here," Roman muttered, ignoring Virgil's comment.

  
"Oh yeah, you're sensitive to that right now." Virgil flipped the nearest light switch and stopped at the stairs. "Do you want me to keep... doing this when we get down there?" He asked quietly.

  
"If you want to," Roman responded.

  
"I mean... if you're comfortable with it." Virgil chuckled nervously. "Janus would never let us hear the end of it."

  
"I'm sure," Roman laughed lightly.

  
"I- I don't know if I want to show them just yet," Virgil said. "I'm... there's been a lot going on and I don't know..." He swallowed. "I mean, if you want to, then we can."

  
"It's okay, Virgil," Roman let go of Virgil's hand. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable,"

  
"O-Okay." Virgil came down the stairs, rubbing his fingers together.

  
Roman followed Virgil down the stairs.

  
Logan saw them first. "Ah. I must apologize, Roman, I was unaware that would make you uncomfortable. If it helps, I could avoid using my medical equipment as much as possible?" He adjusted his tie. "I... do not wish to upset you."

  
Roman nodded. "Yeah, that sounds... okay," he mumbled. "I'm sorry for freaking out."

  
"Your apology is not necessary, but accepted. It is not uncommon to be uncomfortable in these types of situations, and I could have approached the subject more delicately."

  
"What happened?" Patton asked. "How did you get hurt?"

  
"Oh." Virgil sat down again and poked at his food. "Well, uh, I went to check on Roman this morning, as you asked." Patton nodded. "And then, uh..." Virgil took a sip of water and pushed the chair out for Roman. "We spent about half an hour there, just hanging out, and uh... we got attacked. By a Dragon."

  
"What? Are you okay?" Patton exclaimed worriedly.

  
Logan winced slightly. "Patton, remember to keep your voice down, please."

  
"Oh, sorry," Patton said quietly. "How did that happen?" He asked.

  
"I couldn't tell ya," Roman mumbled.

  
"Well, Roman and I..." Virgil remembered how they actually took down the dragon and swallowed a little too fast. He coughed.

  
"You okay, Virgil?" Roman asked.

  
Virgil waved him off and drank a couple of gulps before continuing. "Wrong pipe, sorry." He cleared his throat and continued. "Roman took care of the dragon long enough for us to sink out, and we went to his room to patch up."

  
Logan swallowed a bit of stroganoff. "How specifically did you get the concussion?"

  
"I wish I knew," Roman muttered.

  
"He was in a tree and the dragon knocked it down," Virgil replied.

  
"Whoa," Roman mumbled.

  
"Yeah. As I said, don't go for the neck next time. Or the Underbelly spot either."

  
"Got it," Roman nodded.

  
"What did you do while Roman was working with the dragon?" Logan asked.

  
Virgil looked intently at his plate. "I, uh. I was watching him. I distracted the dragon a bit. One of the trees fell and that's how I got my cuts." He swallowed nervously, still not touching his food.

  
"Virgil, you need to eat," Roman said quietly.

  
Virgil looked at him, then back at his plate. "Oh. Right." He scooped up a forkful of rice and took a small bite. Roman smiled.

  
"You too, Princey." Virgil gestured to Roman's plate.

  
"Yeah, I know," Roman responded, grabbing his fork and eating some of his food.

  
"Did anything else happen before you sunk out?" Patton asked.

  
Virgil stayed silent and drank more water.

  
"I have no clue," Roman responded.

  
"Roman... doesn't actually remember what happened. He fell asleep and woke up just remembering going to the Imagination." Virgil said.

  
Roman, not knowing how to react, laughed.

  
Logan raised a concerned eyebrow. "Exactly how severe is your concussion, Roman?"

  
"I'm not really sure. But uh, probably pretty bad," Roman responded.

  
"Hmm. How did you check him, Virgil?"

  
"Oh. I, uh, I used a flashlight. His eyes reacted, but barely."

  
"Yeah, that's not good," Roman muttered to himself.

  
"Well, I must ask that the next time you experience an injury of this magnitude, you come to me so I may assist in the treatment. I find it can be... useful to have a second opinion on these matters." Logan said, taking a sip of his water.

Roman didn't respond.

  
"I... understand if you don't... want to?" He looked confused, turning to Patton for a bit of guidance.

  
Patton smiled softly at Logan and turned to Roman. "Kiddo, it's okay if you're scared. We just want to help. But, if you don't want us to, we understand," he said.

  
"No, I- I do want help, it's just- it's hard sometimes, to ask for it," Roman mumbled

  
"Well, you need simply- oh, this is an emotional issue. I see." Logan adjusted his glasses. "Well, I can assure you, that you will not be rejected or judged if you decide to come for aid. We of course will be curious about the injury, whether it be mental or physical, but if you do not wish to explain in full I would not press for information. Though you may have to remind me." He added.

  
Roman gave half a smile. "I'm- I'll try," he said.

  
"So, what did you two do today?" Virgil decided to change the subject. "Logan, you were talking about Wrinkle In Time, right?"

  
"Ah, yes." Logan seemed much more comfortable with this conversation. "Thomas has been rereading that particular novel, and as he read it last in eighth grade, most of what he read I couldn't fully comprehend and therefore put aside. However, my comprehensive abilities have grown since then, so I decided to take up the fascinating concepts provided in the text. I reason..." He stopped at Patton and Roman's slightly confused looks and Virgil’s far off one. "Ah. Rambling. I wanted to try again, and I reason that the theories are possible, with a certain amount of energy put into it. Although I'll have to go back and look at my notes again, considering what you said earlier, Virgil."

  
"That's pretty neat, Lo!" Patton grinned.

  
Virgil smiled. "Well, I am good at causing existential crises. So you're welcome, I guess."

  
Roman laughed lightly.

  
"Thank you, Patton. I suppose it is pretty 'neat'." He smiled a little and started on his salad. "What about you, Janus? You haven't spoken up much."

  
"Well, for the most part, I /haven’t/ been trying to find Remus," Janus said. "I /don’t/ have some things to speak with him about,"

  
"Ah. I believe he has been in the Imagination for the past week." Logan said off-handedly. "I have had sudden urges to laugh maniacally during my research, and that would certainly explain it."

Virgil froze with the fork halfway to his mouth and glanced at Roman. "Are you sure?" Virgil said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Oh, yes. I actually went to his side to ask about the urges and he said he was 'making some tweaks.' I left quickly." He looked at Roman. "Is something wrong?"

  
Roman nodded slowly. "That explains how he- and that means he could've been eavesdropping in any conversations I've had in the past week,"

  
Logan paused. "Oh, dear. How he what?"

  
"I- it's not a big deal," Roman said quickly.

  
Logic raised an eyebrow but stopped. "Well he didn't mention anything about being on your side of the Imagination, and he's generally very open about what he plans on doing."

"Yeah, unless it has something to do with me," Roman mumbled under his breath.

  
Virgil discreetly took Roman’s hand beneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Well, Janus, do you mind if I come? I also have something to ask Remus."

  
"You're sure?" Janus asked skeptically.

  
"Positive," Virgil said confidently.

  
"Alright, then. You /can't/ come with me after dinner," Janus said.

  
Virgil smiled. "Nice." Then he coughed and squeezed Roman's hand again. "What about you, Padre?"

  
"Oh, I've just been watching movies most of the day," Patton smiled.

  
"Cool. What'd you watch?"

  
"Oh! I watched Onward and a really cute romance movie that I forgot what it was called," Patton said. "I also made cookies!"

  
Virgil smiled. "That's fun. What kind?"

  
"Just chocolate chip. I used the special recipe," Patton replied.

  
Logan groaned. "I still don't understand why you won't share the recipe with me. I can't think of anything that would logically raise the flavor quality of the cookie!"

  
Virgil grinned at him. "It's a secret recipe, Lo. You can't tell or it's not a secret."

"Exactly," Patton smiled.Roman chuckled at the scene before him.

"But I don't understand why it needs to be a secret. If it truly is an ingredient that improves the flavor, then why keep it to yourself? That's like, like..." He tried to grasp for a

metaphor. "Like if I found a cure for something, and then kept it to myself, so it would be more interesting to others. What is the point?"  
"Did you just compare a cure to a cookie recipe?" Roman asked.

"Are my cookies /that/ good?" Patton smirked.

"I'm not good at analogies. ok?!" Logan raised his arms in frustration. "My point is, why a secret?"

Virgil laughed. "Why not?"

Logan groaned. "But why?"

"But why not?" Roman asked.

"But why?!"

"Why not, Lolo?" Patton asked.

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking!" Logan turned to Janus, who was sitting next to him. "Janus, please take my side on this, I'm being ganged up on.

Janus laughed. "I /can/ help you with this one. I /don’t/ agree with the others,"

Virgil laughed. "Give in, Lo."

"I refuse! I will not give in to a bunch of- of- children! You are all children! The fact that you don't know what something is should not make it more interesting!" Logan crossed his arms.

"Keep your volume down, Lo," Roman muttered.

"Ah. I apologize. But I do not retract my statement."

Virgil absentmindedly rubbed the back of Roman's hand with his thumb. "Well, I personally think that kids are more fun than adults most of the time."

Roman nodded. "I agree,"

"Well, I think that children are often prone to unrealistic and nonsensical behaviors, and while I won't deny that adults can and often do participate in those behaviors, children are more likely to behave that way."

"So you're agreeing with us," Virgil said with a smirk.

"That's what I'm hearing," Roman responded.

"I- what part of- I'm not-" Logan placed his hands flat against each other pointing towards the sky with his eyes closed.

"You're either taking a very deep breath for a long rant, or you're praying for strength," Virgil commented.

"I do not pray. I do breathe. Both assumptions are incorrect, however. I believe it is pronounced-" He opened his eyes and pointed his hands at the area between Virgil and

Roman. "Boyee."

Roman laughed.

  
"Boyeee?" Virgil wheezed. "Boyeeee?" he put an elbow on the table and laughed into his arm.

  
"Oh my God!" Roman laughed. "That was great!"

  
"I can't-"

  
Janus covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

  
Patton giggled.

  
Virgil continued to wheeze while Logan looked confused. "I'm assuming I did not pronounce it correctly, but why is that so humorous that Virgil sounds like the kettle?"

  
Virgil outright died at that comment, leaning back in his chair. "Oh my god!"

  
"The kettle-!" Roman laughed.

  
Virgil finally leaned back forward in his chair, grinning like a lunatic. "If you need to know, it's pronounced 'boi' not boyEE." He giggled a bit at that.

  
Roman smiled. "Oh wow, that made my head hurt," he muttered.

  
Logan smiled a bit but paused and stared at Virgil for a moment. He took off his glasses and then put them back on, and Virgil noticed the stare. "What?"

  
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but... the pigment in your eyeshadow seems to have changed... I recall it being black a moment ago?" Logan said hesitantly.

  
Virgil blinked, and Roman gasped. "Your eyeshadow is doing the thing again!" He said excitedly.

  
"I-" Virgil touched his face. "Oh. Um, yeah. I guess it is." This is embarrassing, Virgil thought with a bit of a red face. Patton's never going to let this go-

  
"Awwww!" Patton smiled. "That looks so cool!"

  
Virgil sunk into Roman's sweater. "Thanks, I guess."

  
"How have I never seen this before?" Janus asked.

  
"It's such a pretty color! The purple is so vibrant, and it really just looks so good on you, Vee. I mean, don't get me wrong, the whole 'dark brooding emo' look is charming too, but the purple is just so incredible. It really fits you and I think that it's just the right shade. And- because don't tell me there isn't any- I love that it has glitter!" Roman rambled happily.

  
Virgil turned red and put both arms on the table to hide his face. _Janus is never letting this go_ \- a muffled groaning sound came from the man's arms.

  
Janus smirked. "Aw, 'Vee', what's the matter?" He said mockingly.

  
"Iwl fkee dstr y bluli, btc," Virgil said, his voice muffled.

  
"It seems Virgil.exe has stopped working," Logan commented with a sip of water.

  
"What /didn't/ you say, Virgil?" Janus asked.

  
Virgil raised his head to send Janus a mortified glare. "I will destroy your bloodline, snake." He censored out a few words for Patton's sake.

  
"Virgil!" Patton exclaimed. "That isn't very nice,"

  
"You should see it without the filter," Virgil muttered under his breath, still red. "Sorry, Padre."

  
Roman's face reddened as he realized what he just said. "It's getting kinda loud in here, I think I'm gonna go-" he got up and headed to his room.

  
"G'night, Ro," Virgil called, turning back to his dinner. He continued to glare at Janus while he ate a couple more bites.

  
"Don't apologize to me, Virgil. You need to apologize to Janus!" Patton said.

  
"What, no!" Virgil protested loudly. "He's an a- he's a jerk!"

  
"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't apologize," Patton said.

  
"Doesn't mean I'm going to!"

  
"I think you /shouldn’t/" Janus laughed.

  
"No! You're not upset, why should I say sorry?"

  
"It's the polite thing to do!" Patton said.

  
Virgil caught Janus sticking out his forked tongue with a smug look and he stood up. "Oh, I'll show you polite-"

  
"Don't," Patton warned.

  
Logan cleared his throat. "Well, I'm finished, and none of you are eating, so it's time for dessert. I'll get Roman!" He quickly stood up and went up the stairs.

  
Virgil glared at Janus but picked up his plate and went to the kitchen to rinse it out. He turned the sink on and muttered to himself. "Fucking bastard, two tongued son of a half-witted troll faced-" He stopped when Patton came into the kitchen after him.

  
"Hey kiddo," Patton smiled.

  
"Hey, Pat." Virgil cleared his throat and put the excess rice in the trash. He hadn't eaten most of it.

  
"So... you and Roman?" Patton asked.

He choked a bit. "What- what about us?

"Well, I mean... it's obvious that you both like each other. And Jan told me the two of you were asleep together?"

Virgil turned red and accidentally made a loud scraping sound with his fork and plate. "I-is that so?"

"Mhm!" Patton smiled.Virgil pushed his plate in the sink and went over to the cookie jar. "Well, um... I- I'm not- we aren't-" He couldn't think of anything to say.

Patton grinned. "That's okay. You'll figure it out eventually,"

"I- Figure what out?" Virgil asked incredulously.

"I guess you have to wait and see," Patton smiled.

"Pat! You can't just say that and not tell me!" He picked up the cookie jar and walked towards the dining room.

"It's like I said, Virgil. You'll figure it out soon enough,"

"Hhhhh." Virgil walked back into the dining room and put the cookie jar on the table. He glared at Janus and took two. "I hope you're happy with yourself."

Janus smirked. "I am /not/,"

"Good." He threw a cookie at Janus and sat down, taking a big bite of his own. "I'm so happy for you." His face was hot.

"I suppose you /weren't/ happy earlier, holding Roman's hand under the table," Janus said.

Virgil almost choked on the cookie. "I- shut up!" He squirmed in his chair.

Janus just laughed.

"Fuck you!" Virgil went back into the kitchen, shoving another bite off cookie in his mouth.

"Virgil!" Patton shouted.

"I'm sorry!" He said over the cookie, deciding to make some tea. He got out a pot. "He's being a jerk!"

"Still!"

"I'm sorry." Virgil swallowed and filled the pot up. "Do you want any tea, Pat?"

"No, I'm good. Thank you though, kiddo," Patton said.

Virgil took a deep breath and put the pot on the stove. "Can you get the tea bags out? I wanna try the hibiscus tea this time."

"Sure!" Patton went to the pantry and looked for the hibiscus tea box. "Here it is!" He brought it back to Virgil.

Virgil took the box and set it on the counter, then turned on the stove. "Janus, go get Logan!" He called. "I'm making tea!"

Janus didn't respond but went to find Logan.

Virgil leaned against the counter, hiding his face in his hands. He was ready to be done with this day.

"You okay, kiddo?" Patton asked.

"I'm fine, Padre." Virgil sighed. "Today has been... a lot. I'm probably going to go to bed early after I go with Janus." He stretched. "Unless you have something you wanted to do?"

"No, it's okay. You should get your rest," Patton smiled.

  
"Thanks, Pat." He smiled when Logan walked in. "Hey, Lo. Do you want any tea?"

  
Logan cleared his throat a bit. "Um, I suppose, sure." He eyed the spot where the cookie jar was supposed to be. "Where are the cookies, Patton?"  
"It's on the table," Patton smiled.

  
Logan smiled. "Ah, I will return shortly." He left the room.

When Logan came back, Virgil stuck a finger into the pan to check the temperature. "Hey Lo, is Roman coming down?"

  
Logan came back in with two cookies. "No, I asked and he wanted to do something before he went to bed."

  
"Did he tell you what?" Patton asked.

  
"He did not," Logan responded, eating half the cookie in one bite.

"Slow down, Lolo. There's no need to rush eating your cookie," Patton giggled.

  
"Well, it is excellent. And I have come to notice that Roman takes bigger bites when he likes the food, so I assumed that was a regular show of pleasure with food."

Patton laughed, and Virgil smiled. "Well, I'll bring him his dessert before Janus and I go to the Imagination."

  
"Well, we /shouldn’t/ be going soon," Janus claimed.

  
Virgil nodded. "Let me finish with this tea. I'll probably need something to calm me down afterward anyway."

  
"Alright," Janus nodded.

  
"Logan, do you want peppermint or the hibiscus stuff?"

  
"Peppermint."

  
"Janus?"

  
"I /do/ want any," Janus replied.

  
"Alright." Virgil checked the temperature again, then put the finger in his mouth. "Logan, get yourself your teabag, I'm... not good at pouring things. And I'm not doing it the way Roman does. Where are our ladles again?"

  
"The drawer under the knives," Patton said.

  
"Thanks." He turned off the stove and opened the drawer. "Shoot, we don't have any the right size." "Hhhh." Virgil got three mugs and carefully dipped them into the pot. "This is my least favorite thing that I've done today, and I almost died today," Virgil muttered under his breath. Janus was the only one close enough to hear.

  
Janus hummed. "I'm never /not/ letting anything that happened today go, I hope you /don’t/ know that,"

  
"Ugh." Virgil groaned. "Yeah, I know. I'm fully aware, and I hope you know that if you ever got even slightly embarrassed about anything, I would be doing the same thing to you." He sighed and handed one mug to Logan, who took it gratefully. "Unfortunately, your brain doesn't work that way, and I suffer for it."

  
Janus smirked. Virgil put the teabags in the other two mugs and held them both in one hand. "I'm gonna give this to Roman and then we can go, Jan." He left before Janus could make a snide comment. He grabbed three cookies from the jar and carefully came up the stairs.

  
He couldn't knock on the door with his hands full, so he called out. "You in there, Ro? My hands are full, can I come in?"

  
Roman opened the door, looking somewhat frustrated. "Hey, Vee. What's up?" He asked.

  
"I brought tea and cookies." He came into the room, noticing the look on Roman's face. "What's wrong?"

  
Roman ran his hand through his hair. "I'm trying to fix my glasses, but Remus did something stupid and I can't figure it out," he muttered.

  
"Here, I made hibiscus tea and took a couple of cookies. Can I have a look? I've helped Patton fix his glasses a few times."

  
Roman nodded. "Sure, but there might be no use," he said. "This is Remus' doing."

  
He put the mugs and two of the cookies on the nightstand, taking a bite of one of them. "Where are they?"

  
Roman went to his desk and picked up the glasses. "Here. I can usually just do a couple of things and 'poof' they're back to normal, but I can't figure it out this time."

  
"Huh." Virgil took them gingerly. "I... don't know enough about glasses? But I think he... hm. Do you have the screws?"

  
"Oh. Right, of course." Roman picked up the screws and handed them to Virgil.

  
Virgil looked at them and held them up to the light. "You tried screwing them back in, right? Is that what's not working, or is it something else?"

  
"Yeah, they won't go back in,"

  
"Hmm." Virgil brought them a little closer to his eyes. "Yeah, I think he might have switched out the screws."

  
"Oh," Roman muttered. "I'm so stupid," he gave a short laugh.

  
"No, you just have a concussion. It's fine," Virgil handed him a mug. "I haven't stirred it yet, and it's still pretty hot, so be careful."

  
"Did you add sugar?"

  
"No, but it's the hibiscus, and I'm pretty sure it should be sweet? Or at least not terrible, I don't know, I haven't tried it." Virgil picked up his own much and moved it so the water swirled. "Oh, I love that color."

  
Roman nodded. "Reminds me of my sash," he said.

  
Virgil furrowed his brow. "Huh. I didn't think of that." He took a sip. "Oh, wow. That's a strong flavor."

  
Roman took a sip as well. "It kinda tastes like apple cider," he said.

  
"I guess." He took another bite of the cookie, swirling his tea a bit more. "Well, I can try to get the screws back when Janus and I leave."

  
Roman sighed. "Yeah..." He mumbled.

  
"Hey, what's wrong?" Virgil caught his eye.

  
"I'm just worried. I don't want you to get hurt," Roman said quietly.

  
"Hey, I'll be fine. I'll have Janus with me." He smiled reassuringly. "If worst comes to worst, we'll sink out." He paused. "Hey, I've been meaning to tell you. After we killed the dragon, I said it's been a while since I've done that. I know you don't remember, but you didn't ask about it and I wanted to explain."

Roman nodded. "Please do,"

  
"Well, when I was first, like... created? I used to go to Remus's side of the Imagination all the time and fight things there. He'd let me, and I did it a lot because I wanted to get stronger." He admitted. "Don't freak out-"

  
"I won't," Roman cut him off with reassurance. "It's not a problem to want to be stronger, Vee,"

  
Virgil smiled. "Thanks." He took another sip of tea. "Well, I started at around the time where the worst things Thomas could imagine were the monsters under the bed, so the things got more dangerous as I got better at fighting. I only got really hurt a couple of times." He shuddered a little. "I had to stop after I started coming over here though."

  
"Why?" Roman questioned. "It's it because you couldn't physically be in The Dark Side anymore? Or did the others refuse to let you come back?"

  
"Uh, no," Virgil squirmed. "It was because when I came back to train I almost got killed by a Manticore… among other things," he said.

  
Roman's eyes widened. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.

  
"Well, I showed up to train like I usually did, and, uh... all of the monsters were riled up. They were attacking each other, setting things on fire... all of that. And I would have sunk back out, but a couple of Singing hornets spotted me, and then everything else in the area did too." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I only survived because the Wendigo tried to eat the Manticore after it cornered me..."

  
"Virgil-" Roman started.

  
"It's fine! I didn't have any life-threatening injuries, and I got out as quickly as possible." He hesitated. "Well- yeah, nothing too bad."

  
"But you did have injuries, didn't you? I mean you can't have not!" Roman said.

  
Virgil tried to soothe him, with little success. "Calm down, Roman. Of course, I had injuries, just nothing that could have killed me as long as I got it treated quickly. Which I did."

  
"Vee, come on! I know what these creatures can do, especially when agitated," Roman said worriedly. "That's terrifying!"

  
"Y-yeah, it was pretty terrifying." He nervously drank more of his tea. "Well, I hid in some ruins that were only mildly possessed, until- until I had enough energy to keep moving." He avoided Roman's eyes by taking another sip.

"You- you said you got cornered by the Manticore... did it- did it do anything?" Roman asked carefully.

  
"Um-" Virgil looked a bit guilty. "It, uh, it scratched me." He looked down. "Just a bit."

  
"Was it the tail or the claws?" Roman asked quietly.

  
Virgil stayed silent.

  
"It was the tail, wasn't it?" Roman guessed.

  
Virgil nodded a bit. "I turned my back while I was running. Stupid move. It scratched me, and I fell. That's how it cornered me. It got in a good gash before the Wendigo showed up." He put the now empty mug on the nightstand and wrapped his arms around himself.

  
"Show me," Roman mumbled.

  
"I- it's fine, now, I just was stupid and didn't bring the anti-venom with me, so-"

  
"No. Show me," Roman interrupted.

  
Virgil tensed a little, but took off his jacket and shirt, then turned around. A thin, shimmering white-purple line etched out a thin scar that went from the middle of his shoulder blade to the small of his back. If you weren't looking, it wouldn't catch your eye. "Manticore venom, it turns out, isn't actually fatal. Just- really, really painful." Virgil shivered.

  
"Vee," Roman said with empathy.

  
Virgil put the shirt back on, just wrapping the jacket around his shoulders, reaching for another cookie.

Roman shook his head. "I'm coming with you," he said decisively.

  
Virgil stopped. "Absolutely not!"

  
"Absolutely! I can't let something like that happen again!" Roman said.

  
"I'm going to talk with Remus, not hunt down a Manticore! And you are not coming, you have a concussion and a broken wrist!" Virgil crossed his arms. "And the longest sleep you've probably had in a while has been your extremely short naps! You need rest!"

  
"I'm sorry, but Remus is worse than a Manticore. By far," Roman said.

  
"I'm not going alone this time, I'll have Janus. And yeah, he is, but he's not worse than a Manticore and about twelve other species, all of which are already angry, to begin with." He pointed at Roman. "You are not coming."

  
"Virgil, I can't just stay here!" Roman cried out.

  
"Yes, you can! And you have to!" Virgil rubbed his face. "I don't want to point this out, but in this condition, how useful are you going to be if Remus decides to attack?" Virgil looked him in the eye.

  
Roman sighed. "You're right, I just- I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt like that again,"

  
"I know. And I'm sorry." Virgil exhaled through his nose. "But if you come, you're going to get a lot more hurt than you already are, and I can't think about that." He put a hand on Roman's shoulder. "I'll sink out as soon as I need to, okay? Just... promise you'll stay here."

  
"I- I promise," Roman said with defeat. "But you have to promise too. I don't care what happens, the second you're in too much danger, you sink out,"

  
"I'm not leaving Janus behind, but of course. I promise." Virgil handed him the last cookie. "Drink your tea, I'll be back before you know it."

  
Roman nodded slightly. "Be careful,"

  
"I will." Virgil leaned in and kissed him softly. He pulled away after a moment and smiled, walking to the door. "I know you're going to wait up for me, just don't stay up too late."

  
"I'm not sleeping until you get back," Roman said. "Good luck with my brother,"

  
Virgil smiled, closing the door behind him, leaving Roman alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you confused, a Manticore has the tail and stinger of a Scorpion, so when it scratched Virgil he was essentially stung. (Also if you wanna be terrified look up what a Wendigo is they're SCARY)
> 
> Oh, and sorry we took so long to update. As compensation, the next chapter will be coming very soon, with another slew of Drama, Angst and Injuries! Also features Remus getting yelled at, as I'm sure you've all been anticipating since chapter one.


	8. Remus!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus likes Harry Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooooee  
> It's been way too long since we've published a chapter, and I apologize that I took forever to edit this one  
> As you can probably imagine, this chapter has a whole army of Trigger Warnings, please make sure to tell us if we missed one!
> 
> TW FOR: Major Injuries, minor claustrophobia, darkness, ghosts/spirits, music boxes, dolls, masks, dust, Remus, getting lost, emotional trauma, being seperated, and probably more that we missed

Janus stood from the table, mentally preparing a list of things to yell at Remus for. Logan had already retreated to his room once more, and Patton was working on the dishes when Virgil came down the stairs. “Ah, Virgil. /Not/ ready?” Janus inquired.

"Yeah," Virgil exhaled. "I'm ready to ask Remus some tough questions, alright,"

"Tough questions?" Janus asked skeptically.

Virgil cracked his knuckles and nodded his head towards Patton, who thought they were going to ‘talk’ to Remus. He technically wasn’t wrong. "Really tough. The kind with lots of clauses and finding X and all that,"

Janus snorted. "Ah, math. What a /wonderful/ thing," he muttered.

"Remus's favorite thing," Virgil smirked and held out a hand. "Let's go give him some homework, shall we?”

Janus smirked. "We /shan't/," he said.

Virgil took his hand and sunk them out, hearing Patton yell a faint "Be careful!" Before they rose into the Imagination. A forest eerily similar to Roman's folded in around them, yet with deeper shadows and a dark twilight made to make you sleepy. They had barely sunk in and Virgil could already feel the eyes of the place on them, ready to pounce.

Janus prepared himself for the chaos about to ensue. "This will go well," he muttered.

"Doesn't everything?" Virgil shuddered. "I've never actually been into the castle, but you have, right? I know the way, just not the place."

"I /don't/ know most of it. But I am /not/ prepared for surprises, as you should be," Janus said.

"Yeah," Virgil smiled weakly. "Remus's surprises are the best."

"Of course," Janus muttered. "Let's not dilly-dally,"

Virgil started to walk, keeping his eyes on the ground for traps, which weren't uncommon around the sink-in point. He snickered. "Did you really just say dilly-dally? What are you, eighty?"

Janus rolled his eyes. "What /wouldn't/ you have said, then?" He questioned.

"I don't know, how about hang around? Stay here for too long?" Virgil smirked. "Oh, how about dawdle, is that old enough for you?"

"I /don't/ suggest you shut your trap, spider," Janus said.

"Idle? Linger?" Virgil grinned. "Fritter time away?" He started to use a terrible accent to sound like his idea of posh.

"Virgil," Janus warned.

"Tarry? Amb..." Virgil's smile faltered along with his feet, and he slowly came to a stop. "Amble..." He looked to their right, where the ruins of a stone building were crumbling and covered with moss. Rotting planks of wood held up a fragile roof, and a mouse scurried in and out of a hole in the stone.

Janus continued walking. Noticing the teasing stop, and turned to see that Vigil had paused in his tracks. "Virgil? What /aren't/ you doing?"

Virgil swallowed. "I-I... aren't those the old church ruins?"

"What of it?" Janus asked.

"Are they?" Virgil repeated.

Janus nodded. “/No/, why?”

“I- oh, God," Virgil could feel himself start to shake and gripped at his sleeves. He could feel old instincts kicking in.

“Virgil?” Janus asked. “What’s wrong, I /don’t/ need you to calm yourself down,” he said with a twinge of worry in his voice.

“I- you-” He felt his heart racing. Where was the adrenaline coming from? Did he need to run? What was chasing him?

"Virgil, you /don’t/ need to snap out of it," Janus said carefully.

Virgil shook his head hard, shaking one hand and breathing heavily. He heard things in the trees, was that the wind? Was that Janus in front of him? How could he know?

Janus cursed under his breath. "Virgil, you need to breathe. Can you hear me?" he asked carefully.

_ ‘Fucking stupid, I should have known, I was right near the sink in point-’ _ Virgil could hear Janus talking, but he had become almost hyperaware of everything else and couldn’t comprehend the words. He just  _ knew _ that stupid spirit in the ruins was laughing at him, the way it had when he’d half sprinted, half limped into the corner of the building, bleeding and panting. ‘ _ This is not the time or place, Anxiety!’ _ He reached towards Janus, trying and failing to slow his heartbeat.

"Virgil-  _ dammit _ \- can you hear me?" Janus repeated.

Virgil grabbed Janus’s arm a little harshly, reaching his other hand up to clutch at his forehead. He saw Janus’s mouth move, and this time the words came out warbled like he was underwater. ‘ _ Is he worried _ ?’ He should respond. “Just- just hold on,”

"Come on, little spider, you need to breathe. Can you do that for me? Take a deep breath," Janus demonstrated for Virgil. 

Virgil saw him make a breathing motion and nodded once. He closed his eyes, then opened them again when that didn’t help. ‘ _ Come on, Virgil, it’s just breathing.’ _ Trembling a little, he took a slow breath and tried to focus on something other than the place around him, finding his eyes fixating on the velvet strap at the base of Janus’s hat.

"There you go," Janus said softly, "Do it again," he took another breath.

Virgil repeated the slow breathing, trying not to look at the forest around him. Was it getting darker? He dug his nails into the palm of his hand, and eventually, he could hear Janus again. He blinked, and the world came into a softer focus. “O-oh,”

"There you are, little spider. Breathe again for me," Janus sighed in relief as it seemed Virgil was more aware. 

“I’m- I’m sorry. I-I haven’t been b-back in a while, I forgot…” Virgil shuddered and took another deep breath.

"It's alright, Virgil. What caused your panic specifically?" Janus questioned softly. 

“I-” Virgil closed his eyes for a second and made a fist, slowly relaxing his hand and reopening his eyes. “Now’s not the time. We’ve probably already been in this spot for too long anyway,” he exhaled slowly and loosened his grip on Janus, letting his arm fall awkwardly to his side. ‘ _ I miss my jacket, dammit _ .’

Janus nodded. "We should get moving. You're /not/ alright, though?" He checked.

“Yeah, let’s just- let’s just get out of here,” Virgil turned away from the ruins, moving slowly once more. There was a moment of silence while Janus followed before he spoke up again. “You haven’t called me that in a while.”

Janus shook his head. "No, I haven't. I /have/ called you that since you left," he muttered. 

“We haven’t done much of anything since I left,” Virgil kept his eyes on the ground to avoid looking at Janus, “Other than fight, I guess.”

"That /isn't/ because you want nothing to do with me," Janus replied with slight sadness in his voice that he hoped Virgil wouldn't pick up on. 

Anxiety sighed, still checking the forest floor for traps and tripwires. “That’s not it, Jan. When I left, I thought… I thought you hated me. I didn’t think we could ever be anything but enemies after that, so I kept my distance. I-” Virgil swallowed and stepped carefully over a loaded beartrap hidden in the tall grass. “I said some stuff I didn’t mean when we were fighting. I’ve been trying to take it back,” He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, hanging his head.

"I never hated you. I /wasn’t/ mad at you, very mad. But I don't hate you, little spider," Janus said quietly.

Virgil looked at him and smiled a bit. “Me neither, snake.”

Janus chuckled slightly. "Are you /not/ willing to explain why you panicked? There'll be quite some time before we make it to the castle," he said softly. "But if not, then I can wait."

“No, it’s fine,” Virgil glanced behind him briefly, seeing that the ruins had been swallowed by the forest. “I… I guess I never told you, but I used to come here to train.”

Janus nodded encouragingly and Virgil continued. “Well, the time I came back after I left, all of the things here were overly aggressive. I was attacked almost immediately after I sank in, by several things, but the thing that got me was the Manticore.”

"I assume that /did/ end too well?" Janus asked. 

“Erm, yeah,” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. “It got me with its tail, along with another pretty deep gash, but it was the venom I had to worry about…”

Janus nodded. There was a pause before he asked, "How'd you make it out?"

“Wendigo. I hid in the ruins until I could sink out.” Virgil shrugged.

"Ah. I /don't/ see why that would cause panic for you," Janus said. 

“Yeah,” Virgil sighed again. “I just can’t believe I was stupid enough to come without the anti-venom.”

"You didn't have the anti-venom?" Janus questioned.

“No, I didn't," Virgil sighed. "I mean, I might have at one point but there were like ten different things attacking me and it could have fallen out, but it's more likely that I messed up and left it in my room. Like a goddamn amateur," He kicked at a rock.

"And would I /not/ be correct in assuming you have nothing of the sort currently?" Janus questioned.

Virgil paused. "Fuck. We should move faster,"

Janus nodded. "Probably."

"And that's assuming it's going to be any safer inside the castle," Virgil groaned, moving his pace to a light jog.

"Let's /not/ just focus on getting there, for now," Janus suggested.

"Right. We'll have t- watch out for that tripwire!" Virgil warned as he watched Janus nearly trip.

Janus jumped over the tripwire. "I totally saw that," he muttered.

"Yeah, uh-huh," Virgil smiled. "What, your old man eyes are getting a little short-sighted?

"Oh, you little-"

Virgil laughed and broke into a carefully placed sprint between the trees. "Keep up, grandpa!"

“Virgil! How dare you!” Janus chased after Virgil, but still watched for traps.

Virgil laughed again, taking care to rein in the sound a bit but feeling a lot better anyway. He only slowed a little, narrowly avoiding two more traps while he ran through the foliage.

“Careful, little spider. If I don’t get you back to your boyfriend in one piece he’ll kill me,” Janus snickered.

“You son of a-” Virgil nearly fell onto a tripwire, but did an awkward hop over it and nearly fell over. “Shut up, you dick!” He kept walking, flushing a bit as he slowed down.

“What did I do?” Janus asked with a smirk.

“You’re so lucky I told Roman I would stay safe, I’d fight you here and now,” He scowled.

Janus chuckled. "I'm /not/ just messing with you," he said lightly. 

“That’s the thing, you’re always messing with me,” Virgil stated.

"I /would/ say  _ always, _ " Janus said, "Just most of the time."

“Exactly!” Virgil groaned. “If I step on a bear trap I’m blaming you.”

"Then you'd better not step on a bear trap because your boyfriend /wouldn’t/ kill me," Janus said sternly.

“Serves you right, bitch,” Virgil muttered.

"It's /not/ practically my job to bother you, as your brother/mother figure," Janus said, immediately regretting it.

Virgil coughed into his fist. “So you admit you’re old enough to be my mom?”

Janus hissed. "/Yes/, I'm only saying that our relationship is not quite brotherly but also not quite parent-to-child."

“That sounds like a confirmation to me,” Virgil smirked.

"No, it is not," Janus said firmly. "It /is/ my fault I have to lie every once in a while, it's who I am,"

“Hmm. Oh look, we’re here,” Virgil said smugly.

Janus bit back another snarky remark. "It seems so," he muttered. 

“How do we get in again? Something about a Sphinx?” Virgil could vaguely recall a couple of conversations between Remus and Deceit about the entrance to Remus’s castle, but most of them he had toned out.

Janus laughed to himself. "Sure, if you /don’t/ wish to be attacked," Virgil sent him an inquisitive look. "Secret entrance. The Sphinxes /won't/ attack no matter what answer you give," Janus explained. 

“Why though,” Virgil made the boi sign at the building, remembering the conversation at the table earlier. “Boyeee.”

"To /not/ give a simple response; Remus," Janus said simply.

“Touché,” Virgil sighed and craned his neck to stare.

The castle was tall and made of slick black stone, with tall spires and not enough windows for it to be well lit. The sun reflected the windows, leaving glaring spots in Virgil’s vision. A swampy moat surrounded most of the outside, besides a drawbridge and a few areas that stuck out of the murky water that could be crossed carefully. It was the kind of place that you could take one look at and say that no one smart person would ever want to enter. 

“So, where’s the entrance?” Virgil asked.

"That's /not/ the difficult part. I know where it is, but there's only one way for it to work, and I don't think you'll like it," Janus said.

“I don’t like anything about this place, hit me with it,” Virgil said.

"Sacrifice," Janus said. "To be more specific, blood sacrifice."

“Oh,” Virgil sighed. “Remus would.” He let out a breath. “Well I’m not Harry and you ain’t Dumbledore, so what do I need to do?”

"Yeah, you /are/ doing it. I have to bring you back as minorly injured as possible," Janus stated.

“Bitch I just said you’re not Dumbledore, how much blood are we talking?” Virgil asked.

"I suppose you'll have to watch and find out," Janus said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a slim, black-handled dagger. 

“Janus hold the fuck up-”

"Why?" Janus asked. "If you get too hurt, Roman will kill me," he said matter-of-factly.

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and watch you stab yourself, let's at least get across the moat first, there’s probably something in there that can smell blood or something,” Virgil said.

Janus nodded. "/Not/ a reasonable argument. And you're so dramatic, I won't be stabbing myself, it's just a cut."

“Well that’s not happening either, bitch,” Virgil headed down the slope that led to the moat and approached one of the narrow pathways to the side of the castle.

Janus rolled his eyes and followed behind Virgil. Anxiety eyed the way to the side of the castle and the almost completely opaque water around it. “Do you know if he put anything in there?”

Janus shook his head. "Other than dirty water, I /do/ know,"

“Huh,” Without blinking, Virgil snatched the knife from Janus’ grasp and sprinted across the walkway, making it halfway before Janus could react. “Yoink!”

“Virgil!” Janus shouted, chasing after him.

Virgil made it over and unsheathed the dagger, making a slice down the middle of his forearm about two inches long, wincing a bit but gritting his teeth.

Janus made it to Virgil, panting. "You're a fucking idiot."

Virgil handed him the dagger. “Yeah, well, what else is new. Now, what do I need to do?”

Janus pointed to a specific brick. "Wipe your blood on that brick."

“Gross, but okay,” Virgil wiped his forearm on the brick, leaving a streak of ribboning red across the shining black, like a snake in dark water. “What now?”

Before he even finished his sentence, a feeling like being dunked in warm slime and then doused in cold water, skin vibrating and lungs emptied enveloped him. The world shook until the inside of the castle came into focus, and he fell over backward into a table.

"Now we're /not/ in," Janus muttered.

“What the hell, couldn’t you have warned me?” Virgil rubbed at his face, trying to erase the unnerving feeling. “What even was that?”

"A form of teleportation," Janus said simply.

“Well that’s the shittiest kind of teleportation I’ve ever felt, I wanna scrub off my skin now,” He held up his arm. “Damn, I only brought bandages, this needs to be cleaned. That wall probably has all kinds of shit on it.”

"If we're quick, we /can't/ make our way to the bathroom and rinse your arm,"

“Yeah,” Virgil wrapped up his arm in the gauzy fabric. “Something tells me this isn’t gonna be quick.”

Janus nodded. "Let's move then,"

The inside of the castle was horrific in a way that got to you slowly. The hallways were just narrow enough that they couldn’t walk side by side, so Virgil ended up following just behind Janus. Nothing was well lit, not just because of the lack of windows, but also because of the candles that flickered on the wall every meter or so, flames wavering despite the lack of airflow. Most rooms were locked, but those that they opened were closets or small dusty rooms, often empty or with a table or bed, sometimes with a vanity and ever so rarely, a torn tapestry or painting. Sooner rather than later, they lost track of where the outside of the building was and ended up wandering through countless corridors. Every few doors they opened led to a new hallway, and the further into the castle they got, the more booby traps - trapdoors, tripwires, and arrows - were narrowly avoided.

Virgil decided that the worst part, at least for him, was the silence. The carpets and long rugs canceled out the sound of their footsteps, and in the few exchanges of words that the two shared, there didn’t seem to be any sort of echo against the stones, which was… unnerving, to say the least. Virgil was sure that the smallest sound would feel like a scream and make him jump, or bring something coming their way. So they walked in eerie silence, falling further and further into the rabbit hole of the castle.

Finally, Virgil spoke up. “We’re completely lost, Janus. And this place is starting to drive me nuts.”

"We can sink out," Janus suggested. "If it's too much for you."

Virgil sighed. “No, I just don’t know how long we’ve been here, or how much of the castle we’ve explored. We could be going in circles and we’d have no idea, this whole place looks pretty much the same,” He tried the handle of a door. Locked. “Haven’t you been here before?”

"/No/. I'm fairly certain we're almost where I think Remus probably is," Janus announced.

“Thank fucking god,” Virgil opened the next door and poked his head in. “I’m- Woah.”

"That might /not/ be where we need to go," Janus muttered. 

Virgil opened it wider. “You had better be right, cuz the pattern’s off and that’s messing with me,” He pointed at the wall, where the candles flickered. “Every hallway we’ve started on had the candles in the second bracket, this one starts on the first.”

"Okay, Sherlock," Janus said. 

“What? I wasn’t actively paying attention, it’s just we’ve gone through so many hallways by now I’m surprised you didn’t notice it,” Virgil went through and took a step down the hall. “There are no doors in this hallway either, as far as I can see.”

"The hallway /doesn't/ have to lead somewhere," Janus muttered.

Virgil went forward only a couple of meters before the hallway opened up into a wide staircase that was well lit with torches instead of candles, and into what looked like it could have been a ballroom. A cavernous ceiling reached far above his field of vision, and even with the better lighting, he couldn’t see the side or far walls. He took a step down the stairs and stopped. “There’s still no echo,” His voice went no farther than it had in the hallways, and that was creeping him out. “Why is it so quiet?”

"It's meant to be eerie," Janus said. 

Virgil shivered. “Well, it’s fucking working. Do you think he’s here?”

"No. There /is/ a good place to hide behind, he wouldn't be able to jump out at us," Janus claimed.

“Right. What’s on the other side?” Virgil questioned.

"I'm not sure. I /do/ think it matters, though, we should turn back,"

Virgil nodded. “Yeah. We should…” He squinted into the darkness. “Did you see that?”

"No. What /didn't/ you see?"

“I thought I saw a- there!” He pointed outward. “There was a flickering light. But it was over there a second ago.”

"Then it probably /is/ a flashing light. Let's not stay to find out,"

Virgil didn’t turn back to the hallway. “Just- hold on, I wanna know I’m not just going nuts.” He went down a couple more steps.

"Virgil-" Janus started.

“Just hold on!” Virgil got to the bottom of the stairs but didn’t step onto the slick tiles, shining under the light of the torches.

"Little spider, we need to stick together!" Janus said worriedly. 

Virgil peered into the darkness, looking for the light again. “One second, Jan-” He stopped, the light had appeared a couple of yards ahead of him, staying in one spot and flickering softly. “What the hell?” He whispered.

Janus cursed under his breath as he ran down the stairs to Virgil. "Come on," he rushed.

Virgil hesitantly put one foot on the floor and the light lunged, racing forwards faster than he could blink. Before he was pulled backward harshly by his companion, the ghostly imprint of a woman’s tortured face smothered his view. He let out a strangled yell, falling onto his back and scrambling a few steps back up the stairs, panting slightly.

"Virgil!" Janus shouted with concern.

“Fuck!” Virgil got to his feet and went back up the stairs as quickly as possible, dragging Janus behind him. “It’s a fucking ghost!”

Janus followed Virgil once more. "You /shouldn’t/ have listened to me," he stated. 

Virgil didn’t stop moving until they were back to the door. “Fucking shit,” He nodded and covered his eyes for a moment. “You’re right, I should have listened,” He shuddered. “Fucking jumpscares.”

"You okay?" Janus questioned.

“I’m not good with jumpscares. I can usually deal with suspense, but jumpscares are the worst,” Virgil exhaled slowly. “Bitch of a ghost, it was luring me in!”

"Yeah, well. What do you expect from Remus?" Janus asked.

“You’re right,” Virgil rubbed his face and opened the door. “As usual…” He stepped out and heard a click and a grinding noise as the stone he stepped on sunk slightly into the floor. He paled. “Son of a bitc-”

The floor swallowed him, leaving his words unfinished and closing over once more, and before either of them could react, Virgil was gone.

"Virgil!” Janus shouted. "Shit," he muttered. He began to pace over the rug, the slight ease of having company replaced by the fear of being alone with a more urgent goal in mind. The floor made next to no sound as his shoes made patterns in the rug. They hadn't seen a single staircase, which meant that they were likely still on the first floor and that meant Virgil was in the basement. He had seen enough horror movies to know that the basement was a bad place to be by yourself.

"Okay," Janus said to himself, "Step one; find Virgil. Step two; find Remus. Step three; yell at Remus. Step four; get out of here and get Virgil back to Roman in one piece." 

"To find Virgil, I need to find a staircase downwards. The only staircase we've seen so far is the one being guarded by a ghost, so I need to explore a bit more," He took a breath and turned in the direction they had been moving before finding the hallway.

"I'm pretty sure Remus is in one of the turrets, which means I'll have to find my way down and then back up," Janus muttered. He began walking, turning when necessary, and trying to avoid the thought that he had no idea where he was going. "I should probably leave some sort of trail so I know where I've been, preferably with different things so I can differentiate... I don't have anything on me, and there hasn't been anything on the tables. So that won't work."

"I could use the candles, but I shouldn't touch them as they're my only source of light. I should have brought a flashlight or something..." Janus stopped. He had come to a crossroads. To his left, he could barely make out some sort of noise. He had planned on going right as he thought the stairs might be there, but the sound might be Remus or Virgil.

"Guess I'm going left then," Janus said sarcastically. He turned to the left and sighed. As he continued to walk, he muttered his plan out loud multiple times.

Janus made his way towards the noise. It became more and more clear that it was some sort of music box, playing the kind of song that could have been a lullaby if not for the purposefully placed notes that made it’s tune haunted.

"Great," Janus mumbled. "Creepy music." He finally found the door it was coming from, and opened it slowly. It creaked, which itself was unsettling as none of the other doors had made a sound. Unlike the other rooms he and Virgil had checked, this one didn't hold merely a table or a small bed. It seemed to be a very old, very dusty nursery. There was a wooden crib that was broken and rotting, a few wooden or cloth dolls lying around the floor, a rocking chair, and a small table, which held the music box.

"Of course, Remus would have something like this," Janus said, hiding the fear in his voice from no one but himself. He stepped in and sneezed. There was so much dust in the air he could barely see, not that he could see much with this lighting anyway. He didn't go too much further into the room, just enough to see the figure of the music box as it spun. It appeared to be someone wearing a smiling theatre mask, dancing with one foot out behind them and arms spread, so one was in front of them as if reaching for something.

_ Reaching for a chance, a glimmer of hope, that maybe it wasn’t all for nothing, that maybe I could save them- _

Taking a deep breath, he closed the music box with a soft clink of china to stop the music. It continued to play.

Opening it again, the figure continued to spin, this time with a mask that portrayed a forced smile, real tears leaking out of the holes in the eyes, flowing down the china surface of the mask. The music seemed to take a frightened turn though it was the same haunting tune.

_ I can’t get out, it won’t let me,  _ **_I_ ** _ won’t let me, I’m stuck, it’s stuck- _

"That isn't terrifying at all," he snarled sarcastically, voice and hands shaking. "I hate this even more already."

He closed it more forcefully, hoping to crack the china, and the music changed key, going higher in pitch and adding a few dissonant notes that made him disoriented. The top of the box had a pattern that featured a Lemniscate, a snake eating its tail in a loop as if taunting him.

_ It’s eternal, it’s all for nothing, you never end- _

"Stop it!" He yelled at the box, opening it once more. The spinning figure was reaching for the mask as if to take it off, no longer dancing.

“That’s it, I’m-” He turned to face the door. It was closed. He ran to it to try and open it, only to find the thick wood jammed shut. “No!” he shouted desperately. He rammed his shoulder into it, trying to force it open. When that didn’t work, he turned back to the music box.

The figure was on its knees, pulling at the mask that wouldn’t come off. It was no longer spinning, but the music played on and on and  _ on _ and-

_ The mask is all that’s left, all that’s real, what’s underneath doesn’t matter anymore, it’s just the mask,  _ **_I’m just the mask-_ **

Janus threw his hands over his ears, trying to block out the seemingly deafening sound of the music  his thoughts . He looked down and the dolls all wore that same mask, held on by straps of fabric, sewn into the back of the doll’s head. His skull ached. He could see their eyes through the holes, they all stared at the wall over the cradle.

Hanging above the cradle was a broken mask, missing the left jaw. He could see himself in the porcelain, reflecting all but his scales and eyes. The mask covered everything but his scales and eyes. The mask would fit his face perfectly, the straps hanging limply from it, a sewing kit on the floor below it. The mask was shiny and fake and terrible and-

**_You are the mask._ **

Janus turned to ram himself against the door again, covering his ears as the music got louder and faster, his heartbeat matching the pace. The dust covered everything but the mask on the wall, his face was throbbing and his vision was crowding in around him and he didn’t know how much longer he could  _ breathe _ -

And just like that, the door crashed open with a groaning of old wood and he sprinted away from the music, towards the crossroads. It could have been his imagination, but the music seemed to carry more than it had. Once at the crossroads, he kept sprinting without a pause, and the music faded away as he moved further into the castle. Panting, resting his shaking hands on his knees.

After a few moments, he exhaled slowly and straightened a bit. “Okay,” he breathed. “Back to the plan,” He muttered, still trembling. If he could move forward, he would be fine. He  _ was _ fine. He didn’t have time not to be fine. “Find stairs, find Virgil. Get the hell out of here as soon as possible.”

Janus took another breath and moved farther down the passage, listening more intently to the silence. He almost tripped down the steep staircase when he finally found it, but he got his footing and headed down the stairs, into the dark lower level of the basement.

_ *time skip back to when Virgil fell* _

  
“Son of a bitch!” Virgil fell into darkness, the floor turned ceiling closing over him as he fell. He could faintly hear Janus cry out, but after a few more feet he landed on his feet.

Virgil’s feet weren’t happy about that, and he heard one of them snap as he collapsed to the hard stone floor. He swallowed his yell while his right ankle flared in pain, biting his lip hard. “Ow, ah,” He hissed a bit. “Fuck, fucking fuck. Ow, son of a dick, that hurts-'' He clutched at his lower calf, trying not to touch his ankle but needing to do something about that pain. “Dammit, I should have brought a fucking pain killer or something, why did I think the castle would be better?” He felt pain-induced tears start to flow from his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away.

Virgil moved to the side of the hallway he was in, crying out when his ankle let out another burst of flame up his leg as it brushed the cold stone floor. “Fucckkk,” He curled up against the wall and tried to breathe. “Janus will probably be fine, he’s smart… he’ll be smart,” He took deeper breaths, beginning to feel lightheaded. “I just need to… to find him,” He gritted his teeth, trying to take the pain in stride. “I- I know how to take care of a broken ankle, right? I- think-” he rolled up the leg of his jeans so he could see his foot more clearly. Not only was it pointing in a sickening direction, but he could also feel it swelling inside his shoe. “Do I take off my shoe-?” He reached for it and tugged it off slowly, whimpering slightly as his ankle flared once more.

“Okay,” Virgil leaned against the wall and let his heartbeat settle a bit before peeling off his sock as well, gritting his teeth. He inspected it more closely. His foot was slightly off-center to the rest of his leg, pointing in an unnatural position that made him feel a bit sick. The area around his left ankle was red and swelling at an alarming rate, making him glad he took off his shoe and sock.

“Okay. What do you remember, come on Virgil, think,” Virgil closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall once more. “Splint? Yeah, a splint and possibly a crutch if I can find one… It’s good that I can still feel it, however much that sucks. I need… something. What was the other thing?” He lifted his good leg just so the knee was bent and rested his head on it. “I need to… I need to set it. Right.”

Virgil sat forward, wishing he had better lighting but gently grasping his foot all the same. "Alright. One, two-" there was a sharp crack and he yelled harshly. He had known it was going to hurt, but he hadn't been prepared for the sharp bolt of agony that had been sent up his leg like lightning. "Shit," He gritted his teeth and took the remaining bandages out of his pocket to wrap around his joint.

When Virgil was done, he maneuvered so he could push himself up the wall with one leg, trying to keep his throbbing ankle off the ground. When he finally got to his feet, he managed to look around him. There was a short shelf to his right, which he leaned on a bit. A candle was a couple of yards to his left, next to a door. He was once again thrown off by the different repetition, as well as the fact that the hallways were even more claustrophobic a level down.

Leaning on the cool stone wall for support, Virgil hobbled slowly down the passage, opening the door before he heard something behind him, a long way down the corridor. He froze.

A too familiar roar echoed down the hallway, too close, too close. "Fuck," Virgil whispered, and went unto the room, closing the door quickly and quietly behind him. The room was empty except for a table and a wardrobe. He wouldn't be able to stay standing in the wardrobe, so he rushed under the table, hearing the rustle of his clothing too loudly. He could hear his heartbeat, the sound of the dust resettling in his wake. He tried to slow his breathing, covering his mouth. He heard something move in the hall, and he flinched as the door creaked open and a silhouette filled the doorway.

It wasn't hard to decipher what it was. The Manticore. The terrifying form with the head of a human, body of a lion, and tail of a scorpion. And by the looks of it; the Manticore wasn't happy.

Virgil dug himself farther into the wall and deeper into the shadows of the table as the creature stepped into the room, surveying it with intelligent eyes. Virgil pushed harder, almost whimpering when his foot flared one more but instead making the smallest noise in the back of his throat.

The Manticore's head snapped in his direction, a low growl filling the space, reverberating through the floor and shaking the table. Virgil stopped breathing, vision blurring as it stepped closer, swinging the scorpion tail forward in a position to strike and eyes glistening in the dark. Anxiety squeezed his eyes shut ready for the hit and-

-and the Manticore growled again, staring into the darkness for another moment before turning slowly back to the door and stalking out of the room.

Virgil didn't move, didn't breathe until he was sure it was gone. When he did breathe, it came in ragged gasps that weren't aided by the dust in the air. He sagged against the wall, letting his legs lie on the cold floor.  _ ‘It saw me, I'm sure, I almost died, I almost left Janus alone in this godforsaken castle, I almost let Roman down, I-’ _ he choked on more dust and began to sob silently, shaking and still hardly breathing. That was too close. He had been stupid, he had thought that the Castle would be somehow safer, or at least not as terrifying as the spawn point or the woods. He had come prepared for a long argument, not a broken bone. He hadn’t been ready for this.

Virgil wasn't sure how long he sat there, whimpering and shaking before a voice made him flinch. "Ya know, if you're gonna die, could you hurry up?"

Virgil jumped, heart pounding, and found his gaze met by the mustaches Creativity, missing his Morning Star and looking at Virgi like he was a mold covering. "Wh- Remus?" For a split second, the oldest of his reflexes made him relieved, Remus was generally not a dick about his panic attacks, maybe he could take him to Deceit- and then he was brought back to the present by the throbbing in his foot. Remus wasn’t his friend anymore. 

He wondered how long the side had been squatting in front of him, watching him cry without comment. Wiping at his eyes, he looked at the black smudges that came off onto his fingers and knew his eyeshadow was streaked down his face like muddy tracks on a tile floor.

"So are you... not gonna die then, or..?" Remus asked.

"What the fuck, Remus, no! How long- fuck!" He yelled as he tried to stand up, forgetting about his ankle. "God shit dammit!" He felt like cussing out his pain at the moment, thanking the lord Patton wasn't there.

Remus snickered. "What are you doing here, Virgin?"

"Don't fucking start on me, give me a damn minute, will you?" He hit his head on the bottom of the table and swore again. "Stop laughing!"

Remus backed away slightly. "Need a hand?" He offered, holding a bloody severed hand in his own.

Virgil didn't dignify that with an answer, instead easing himself out from underneath the table and sitting on top of it. "Why the fuck do you have a Manticore of all things in your basement, don't you have most of the dangerous things outside?"

"What, Brian? He just likes to hang around. Also, you still haven't told me why  _ you _ are here," Remus said.

"You named the Manticore-" Virgil took a calming breath, shaking his hands. "I was looking for you."

"Why?" Remus asked, surprised by Virgil’s answer.

"What do you mean, why?!" Virgil struggled not to raise his voice. "Because you locked me in my fucking room after poisoning me,  _ and _ you attacked Roman, that's why!"

Remus shrugged. "I do that fairly often. Why do you care so much all of the sudden? Planning to get my brother-"

"If I had known you did that I would have cared a lot fucking earlier! What the hell do you attack him for anyway, and why didn't Janus or I notice?!"

"I may be stupid, but I'm not an idiot. I know how to not get caught," Remus supplied.

"Why, Remus? What did he do to deserve that?" Virgil glared sharply. "You better have a good fucking reason."

"He would have done it to me if I hadn't," Remus muttered. "But anyway, why are you so mad? Do you looovvee my bother~?"

Virgil turned red. "Don't change the subject, and don't call him that."

"Why not? He is," Remus shrugged.

"No, he is not," Virgil gritted his teeth. "He might agree with you but you had better shut the fuck up or I'll shove- no you would probably enjoy that. I'll turn all your clothes Red."

"So he's finally figured it out, huh? Took him long enough," Remus ignored the threat.

"Shut up! Haven't you put him through enough?!" Virgil shouted, his Voice slightly breaking.

"I've no clue what you're talking about," Remus grinned.

"You attack him for fun, what do you mean?!" Virgil looked like he was ready to jump on Remus where he was. "You frequently traumatized him, gave him multiple complexes and you won't leave his glasses or the rest of his life alone!" Virgil stopped and took a breath. "Just be glad we didn't tell Patton about it, he would probably kill you."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "He told you about his ugly glasses? Wow, he must reaally like you-"

"Shut up, for once in your life, shut up," Virgil closed his eyes. "Why'd you move him? This morning."

"For fun," Remus replied menacingly.

"Of course," Virgil rubbed his face. "I don't know why I expected anything different. Well, if it makes you happy, that resulted in four of us almost dying."

"Ooh! What fun! What attacked you?" Remus asked wildly.

"A goddamn dragon, but that's not-" Virgil got interrupted.

"The smart one?" Remus asked.

Virgil was confused for a moment. "The- oh, the learning one. Yeah, that one."

"My little ~addition~," Remus said proudly.

"Of course," Virgil leaned against the wall. "What about the screws to his glasses? Where are they?"

"Hidden," Remus said simply.

"I'd like them back," Virgil hissed.

Remus cackled. "Oh, would you, now?"

"Yeah, I would," Virgil gritted his teeth. "Or I'll make good on my threat, I'll make it a nice bright red too, something that won't come out for a long time."

"Shit, I thought you meant blood red," Remus started.

Virgil glowered. "No, why would I threaten you with something you would like? I'm not stupid."

"Fine. Here. Have fun," Remus handed Virgil a bag full of maybe fifty different sets of screws.

"What the fuck?" Virgil fumbled a bit and peeked in the bag. "Are these all different sizes?"

"Of course! Who do you think I am?" Remus grinned.

"A bitch, apparently," Virgil clenched his fists. "Fine, fair play. Now how the hell do you navigate this castle, I need to find Janus."

"Oh! Janny is here too? What fun! Where is he?" Remus asked excitedly.

Virgil got off the table, leaning on the wall and hobbling his way to the door. "If I knew I wouldn't be asking, would I?" He nearly tripped but grabbed the door handle before he could fall. "He probably trying to find some stairs, considering I fell down a flight because of your stupid booby traps."

Remus burst out laughing. "Classic!"

"Shut up, I broke my fucking ankle in that fall!" Opening the door a crack to peek into the hallway, he saw nothing and breathed a sigh of relief before carefully leaving the room with Remus tailing him. "And what was with the big room with the ghost?"

"Which one?" Remus asked, skipping ahead and blowing out candles.

"You have more than one? Never mind, I don't want to know. Uh, the one with the staircase?"

"Oh! That's the one by the boggart room!" Remus shouted, making Virgil flinch.

" _ What _ room? And keep it down, would you?"

"It's my castle, I do what I want," Remus said. "It's the boggart room, a.k.a the room of inquirement."

"Why- fuck," Virgil hissed when his foot brushed the ground. "Why do you call it that?"

"It reflects your worst, deepest, most internalized fears," Remus casually stated, contemplating the nearest candle like he wanted to take a bite of the hot wax.

Virgil stopped and looked at him. "Why would you even have a room like that?"

He shrugged.

"Well, hopefully, Janus doesn't find it..." Virgil shivered, and couldn't help but wonder what he would see if he ever had the misfortune of entering that room.

"He probably did. It's right next to the nearest staircase," Remus grinned.

The anxious side blinked, then began to move faster. "Well hurry up, then! We have to find him!" He growled every time his foot jerked with his movement.

Remus gave an overly fake wince. "You shouldn't be putting weight on your ankle, but who am I to decide that for you?"

"Well if you would- shit- if you would  _ help _ me then maybe I wouldn't have to!”

"J-anus will be fine," Remus said with a roll of his eyes, "He's been here before."

"I'm literally anxiety. I'll have to see for myself, and don't say his name like that for god's sake," Virgil continued to hobble against the wall, having to move aside for a table or shelf every once in a while.

"Well-" Remus' statement was interrupted with a shout.

Virgil perked up. "Janus?" He called.

"Virgil!" Janus' voice came from a bit away.

"Oh my god, Janus! I'm over here, and I have the rat!"

"Are you okay?" Janus shouted.

"I'm-" Virgil hesitated. "I'm alive."

"But slowly dying!" Remus called.

"What?!?" Janus came into view from down the hallway, covered in dust.

"I'm not dying!" Virgil hissed, glaring at Remus for a moment before turning back to Deceit. "I'm just- Woah. Janus, are you alright?"

"Technically everyone is slowly dying," Remus stated wisely behind him. "Verrrry slowly."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine-"

"You look like you've been crying. What happened up there?"

Janus' eyes widened. "What? No, nothing happened," he quickly wiped his face with a gloved hand. "What happened to you?"

"Manticore. But-"

Remus jumped over Virgil. "Did you find the Boggart room? What happened in there for you? Was it birds?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Remus," Janus lied.

"Oh come on, there's no way you didn't find it. What got you crying if not that, the weeping spirit three floors up?" Remus teased.

"I wasn't crying," Janus hissed.

"Leave him alone, he doesn't want to-"

"Oh, and Virgil doesn't have a broken ankle, then!" Remus cackled.

"You broke your ankle?!?" Janus exclaimed. "Roman's going to kill me."

"I landed on my feet! It's fine, he's not allowed to kill anyone until his concussion is gone anyway, and you had nothing to do with it," Virgil assured.

"My bother has a concussion? Wow, my weekly attack is gonna be easier than usual-"

"Weekly?!" Virgil said in horror.

"Why am I unsurprised?" Janus muttered.

"Wait, he never told you how often I do that?" Remus whistled. "He's really trying to shelter you, isn't he?"

"Remus!" Janus shouted.

"What now?"

"What you're doing isn't okay!"

"You never tried to stop me before," Remus crossed his arms. "You're both so hostile, I came here to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now."

"Oh, I wonder why that is," Virgil said sarcastically.

"Me too, glad we're on the same page."

"Did you ever think that perhaps we didn't stop you because we /did/ know that you were doing it?" Janus asked.

"I mean, obviously, why do you think I never told you? Honestly, I'm surprised you even care enough about my bother to come to my castle and brave the Room of Inquirement. Don’t I feel special."

"Wait, did you attack him before you locked us in my room?" Virgil said, turning white. "After I caught you the first time?"

Remus stared at him, then began to laugh hysterically, slapping his knee.

"What?!" Virgil said, frustrated.

"He- he didn't tell you?" Remus flipped to sit upside down on the table, legs against the wall and head lolling off the edge, still laughing. "Damn, I thought he trusted you more than  _ that _ !" He wiped a non-existent tear from his eye while Virgil stood still. "Guess I was wrong, huh?"

Virgil stood still, then stepped forward on his good leg. "You little shit-"

"He does trust Virgil. He just /does/ want to make him worry," Janus hissed defensively, holding Virgil back.

"Yeah, that worked out really well. Did you even notice the bruise on his shoulder?" Remus continued to cackle.

"Let me go!" Virgil struggled, but ended up putting too much weight on his ankle and nearly collapsed, turning white as a sheet.

"/Don’t/ stop, Virgil. You put any more weight on that ankle and I'm sinking us out," Janus threatened.

Virgil growled and sat on the floor. "Fine." He said through gritted teeth.

Janus turned back to Remus. "How /wouldn't/ anyone notice a bruise on his shoulder with that outfit he always wears?"

"I thought Virgil would have at least taken his top off by now-"

Virgil threw his shoe at Remus's face, effectively shutting him up for a moment.

Remus was stunned for a moment, then picked up the shoe. "Ooh, this is quality rubber. Do you mind if I lick this?"

Virgil wrinkled his nose. "Um, yes?"

"Great!"

Janus sighed, walking to Remus and grabbing Virgil's shoe.

"Hey! I rarely ever get rubber like that! Spoil short," Remus proceeded to push himself off the table backward, landing with one foot on Virgil's leg, making his leg jerk and the side cry out.

"Virgil!" Janus shouted. "Alright, I think it's time to go. It was /lovely/ seeing you, Remus," he hit Remus upside the head with the shoe and held a hand out to Virgil.

"Ow! Hey, don't leave, I haven't even introduced you to Brian! You know he's the Manticore that gave you that nasty scar, Virgie?"

Virgil turned somehow paler, hand freezing in the motion of taking Janus's gloved one. "What?"

"Scar?" Janus growled. "What /aren't/ you talking about?"

"Virgil's scar. Brian's still sour about being stopped by that Wendigo, but I think he got a good share of hurt in before that, don't you?" Remus said matter of factly, devious smirk betraying the casual tone of voice.

“How-” Virgil began to shake. "How do you know about that?" Janus grabbed his hand, helping him up gently and protectively pulling him close.

"Brian told me," Remus said simply. "He wanted to say you were doing pretty well until the Singing Hornets showed up. Where'd you hide after the Wendigo got there anyway? The old church?"

Janus wasn’t stupid. He put two and two together, and it made four. One Virgil, shaking, one panic attack at the sight of Church ruins, one mention of a scar, and one Manticore.

Janus also wasn’t a moron. He knew that if he gave the slightest inkling to Virgil that he had figured it out, the Spider’s panic would increase and make it even more difficult to sink out.

"We're not doing this right now," He interrupted, turning to Virgil. "We're leaving. Now."

"Why  _ nooot _ ? It's not like you guys visit anymore, let's talk while you're still here!" Remus said cheerfully.

Virgil leaned on Janus. "That was- that was the Manticore that-"

"Manticores aren't exactly common, Virgin. I thought you knew that?"

"Stop," Janus demanded. "Virgil, are you ready to sink out?" He asked carefully.

"I- I think so," He was shaking. They had to leave soon.

"Well, come back soon! I can't wait to see what your deepest fear is, Virgie." Remus cackled.

Janus nodded. "Let's get out of here, then," he ignored Remus.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, J-anus! Hope you enjoyed the Room of Inquirement, it's quite the ride, huh?"

Janus continued to ignore him, and he and Virgil sank out.

***

"They're taking quite a long time," Patton said worriedly. "Maybe we should go and try to find them."

Logan hesitated but nodded. "Let us alert Roman first, he might worry if we just disappear,"

"Yeah, that sounds good. He's just in his room, right?" Patton asked.

"I believe so. I shall prepare some things for us if you want to go alert him, I'm somewhat versed on the dangers of Remus's imagination," He started up the stairs.

Patton nodded, then made his way to Roman's room.

Patton knocked and a moment later the door opened. "Oh hey, Patton. What's up? Are they back?" Roman asked.

"No, kiddo, they aren't. But that's why I'm here. Logan and I are going to go and see if we can find them," Patton said.

"What? No- you can't. It's- you can't, it's too dangerous," Roman said quickly.

"Well, Logan is going to get some stuff right now, and-"

"You can't!" Roman interrupted.

Logan came into the room. "I have been to the Imagination before, I'm certain we won't have a problem finding them," He held up a bag. "I have antitoxins and antidotes for almost all of the anticipated creatures we could run into."

"Yeah, the anticipated ones! You have no clue what there might be, and Remus likes surprises. It isn't safe," Roman said.

"All the more reason to follow them. They might need assistance, and they have been gone for approximately an hour," Logan left the room, heading downstairs.

"You can't go! Please don't- and you could get lost, and-" 

"Kiddo, it's okay-" Patton started. 

"No it isn't! What happens if Remus hurts you? Or you get separated?" Roman cut Patton off.

"I'm afraid you are in no condition to argue, considering you would be just as insistent on going if you were not injured," Logan adjusted his glasses and put the bag down. "I also find it highly unlikely that we will be separated."

"Look, you can't, I-  _ please _ ," Roman begged.

"We will be fine, Roman. But in the unlikely event that something does happen, we will sink out immediately,"

"But what if they get back and you are still out there- it's already dark, and-"

"We will take precautions. If it makes you less concerned, I can go alone, as Patton has no experience with the Imagination,"

"What? No, that's an even worse idea!" Roman exclaimed, wincing as he yelled.

Logan moved to reassure him. "Please calm down-"

Janus and Virgil sank into the room. "Hey," Janus interrupted. "How /isn't/ it going?"

Logan paused. "Oh. I suppose that wasn't necessary after all."

"Virgil!" Roman exclaimed and then tried to hide it when he winced.

"H-hey, Ro," Virgil smiled weakly and sat down on the bed. "How's your head?"

"I'm fine," Roman rushed. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'll be alright," Virgil winced and raised his bandaged foot onto his lap. "Might- ah- might take a couple of weeks, though."

Roman's eyes widened. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.

Logan stepped forward. "I believe that is a broken ankle. Sprained?"

"Broken," Virgil replied, "I fell down a story and it broke."

"You fell down a story?!?" Roman exclaimed.

"Booby trap on the floor," Janus said sullenly, a weight off his shoulders now that they were out of that place.

"Have you set the bone?" Logan inquired.

"Yeah, I have," Virgil hissed slightly as he took off the bandages. "I think I set it correctly, but the lighting wasn't good enough to be sure. Roman, Logan, can you...?"

Roman rushed to Virgil. "You didn't have Janus set it for you?"

"Janus wasn't there," He eased the rest of the bandage off and took a breath. "He was stuck on the upper floor. Patton, could you get some ice?"

Patton nodded. "Of course," he left the room.

"May I ask for the full story?" Logan said hesitantly.

"From when we got to The Imagination or when we got to the castle?" Janus questioned.

"The castle, I suppose. I don't imagine that anything could have happened before that, or you would have come back before arriving,"

Virgil and Janus glanced at each other. "Right..." Virgil cleared his throat. "Well... We got there and searched around for a while, and then we found a big haunted room."

"Who did it? I know what it takes to get in, who did it?" Roman asked.

"I was going to, but-" Janus started.

"I did it," Virgil stated. "Speaking of that, we should probably clean it, the wall was kinda gross."

"Shit, Vee. Logan, I have a first aid kit right on top of my desk, will you grab it and hand it to me, please?" Roman asked.

"I have many questions, but of course," Logan went to the desk.

"Roman, it's fine, it's not that deep-"

"I don't care," Roman interrupted. "You shouldn't have gone," he muttered worriedly.

"I'm glad I did," Virgil said, adding quietly, so Logan wouldn't hear, "We need to talk."

“Did you get the-?” Roman cut himself off.

"Yeah," Virgil leaned against the bed frame. "He put them in a bag full of different sizes, the mother-" he stopped as Patton entered the room. "Thanks, Padre."

"No problemo, kiddo," Patton smiled.

Virgil took the ice and gently pressed it to his ankle, hissing at the sudden cold, while Logan came back with the first aid kit and gave it to Roman.

"Thank you, Logan," Roman muttered. "Give me your arm, Vee."

Virgil complied. "I bandaged it, at least. We came unprepared."

Roman unwrapped the bandage and gasped a cleansing wipe from the first aid kit. "It's going to sting," he warned.

"I have a broken ankle, Roman. I think I can handle a wipe,"

Roman sighed. "Well, if you hadn't gone, you wouldn't have had to deal with either," he muttered.

"Well, if I hadn't gone, Janus would have gone by himself and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to yell at Remus," Virgil said as Roman cleaned his cut. "I'd do it again."

"You promised, Virgil. You promised you'd leave if you were in danger," Roman whispered, holding tears back.

"I tried, Ro. I couldn't focus, and I couldn't leave Janus. I'm sorry," Virgil looked at the floor.

"And you were only going there to yell at him because of me! You got hurt, and it was because of me! Again..." Roman grabbed clean bandages and started to rewrap Virgil's hand.

Logan cleared his throat. "Well, the bone is set correctly, so if you need no further assistance..." He ushered Patton out of the room with him.

Janus followed closely behind them.

"And I would do it again,  _ for _ you, not because of, Roman!" Virgil waited for the door to close behind Janus. "Were you even going to tell me about the attack last week?" He said softly, a lump in his throat.

Roman shook his head. "I couldn't,"

"Why?"

"I- I can't make you worry even more about me, Vee, I can't-"

"I  _ want _ to worry, Roman! I would rather worry than have you get more hurt than you already are, because that hurts  _ me _ ," Virgil clenched a fist. "I can't even think about all the times you were hurt without any of us knowing. I can't have that happen again."

"But you keep getting hurt, and it's my fault," Roman responded. It was getting harder to hold back his tears.

"You can't keep saying that! It's not your fault, that just doesn't make sense," Virgil put his face in his hands. "I don't know what I have to do to get through to you. We can't keep having this conversation, just for you to forget it happened. I don't-" his voice broke. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong.”

Roman sighed. "You aren't. It's just- I can't help but-"

"I know," Virgil swallowed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You can't help but blame yourself," He took Roman's hand with his uninjured one. "But please, try to believe me when I tell you this time; this isn't your fault."

Roman nodded slightly. "I- I'll try," he muttered. He sat on the bed next to Virgil and pulled him into a tight hug.

The anxious side relaxed into Roman, putting his head under his chin, letting himself start to cry. "There was a Manticore," he whispered. "In the castle, when I was alone."

"God, when I'm healed I'm going to go kill that thing," Roman said.

"No," Virgil said solemnly. "No going back there. That just leads to hurt. And you're not getting hurt anymore."

"I can't just not get hurt, Vee, it isn't that easy. Even if Remus does stop attacking me, I've still got The Imagination, and-"

"No more. I don't care what precautions we have to take, you've been hurt enough," Virgil sighed and leaned his head on Roman's chest. "And if Remus attacks you again we'll have to make it so you can't sink in here anymore."

"He'll find a way. Don't you think I've tried that before?"

"We'll figure something out," Virgil insisted. "You can't keep living like this. I can't keep  _ watching _ you live like this."

Roman couldn't think of anything to say. So instead, he finally let go of the tears he was holding in.

"It's okay, Roman," Virgil smiled softly and hugged him more tightly, letting out tears of his own. "We're okay," He stood up and climbed into the bed, pulling Roman with him.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," Roman whimpered quietly.

"It's okay," Virgil reassured. "We can be messes together."

Roman sniffed. "Okay," he mumbled.

There was a knock and Logan's voice came through the door muffled. "Come in, Lo," Virgil called.

The door opened and Logan stepped in. "I found the supplies needed for casts! They were in a further corner than I expected, but I found them," He walked toward the bed. "I must advise that both of you get some rest. Sleep in if you can, I can imagine that today has been rather exhausting."

Roman had to stop himself from laughing. "Sleep in?" He muttered, "I'll be lucky if I get sleep at all."

"That is something else I wanted to mention. I brought some melatonin, the kind that you suck on? It's labeled strawberry, I sometimes take it when I suspect I won't be getting any sleep soon. If you would like to...?" Logan questioned, preparing the supplies for Roman's cast.

"I... guess I can try?" Roman muttered.

Virgil smiled. "Thanks, Lo. I used to take those when Thomas was little, but they started to make me super tired in the morning,"

Roman laughed softly. "So I guess I have to let you put that on my wrist," he muttered, looking at the supplies in Logan’s hands.

“Indeed.” Logan carefully took the brace off of Roman's wrist and expertly applied the cast. When he was done, Logan handed him a bottle. "Take two, don't chew them. Let them dissolve,"

"Thanks, Logan," Roman smiled slightly.

Logan nodded. After Roman took two palettes from the bottle, Virgil took it and put one in his mouth. Logan started. "I thought you said-"

"I 'd rather be groggy than exhausted," Virgil handed him the bottle.

"He has a point," Roman mumbled.

"Your turn, Virgil," He pulled out another cast and Virgil groaned. "Alright, alright. Let's get this over with."

Logan smirked. "I thought Roman was the one who was averse to medical treatment,"

"Well, it isn't my fault that-" Roman started before stopping himself.

"Don't, Logan. I don't like things that stay on for a long time, but that's not the same," Virgil sighed and stuck his leg off the edge of the bed. "Just put it on."

Logan hesitated but applied the cast to Virgil's ankle. "Did I- did I say something insensitive?"

"What? No, you're fine," Roman said quickly.

"Oh. Thank, you, I've been trying to be more sensitive, but I'm not very good at recognizing these things," He finished wrapping the ankle and stood up to leave. "Have a good night, you two."

"You too, Logan," Roman muttered.

Logan smiled and turned the light off before leaving. Virgil fell onto the pillows. "What were you going to say?"

"Doesn't matter," Roman said quietly.

"Okay..." Virgil eased himself under the blankets. "Your bed is really nice," He murmured into the pillow.

"The most comfortable thing you could ever... imagine," Roman joked.

"Well, according to me. You seemed pretty comfortable last night," Virgil teased.

"It was a joke referring to The Imagination- but now that I have to explain it, it isn't very funny anymore," Roman yawned.

"No, I got it," Virgil smirked. "It just wasn't funny."

"Hey, that's not nice," Roman whined.

Virgil laughed. "You were pretty comfortable last night, weren't you?"

"Shut up," Roman mumbled stubbornly.

"You wouldn't let me go to bed, you even gave me puppy eyes," Virgil smirked.

Roman mumbled something grumpily into his pillow.

Virgil chuckled. "Do you even remember it?"

Roman stayed silent.

Virgil smiled and moved the blankets a bit until just Roman's nose was peeking out. "Night, Princey," He closed his eyes. Finally.

"G'night, Vee," Roman mumbled

Virgil laughed quietly, and all was silent for a few minutes. Then he sat up. "Did you know Remus named the Manticore Brian?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! We have three chapters after this already written that just need to be edited, so you can look forward to that. Have a great day/night!


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